Sam Wilson finally stepped into his role as Captain America [1], and Marvel comic book fans aren't the only ones celebrating this historic moment in superhero history. During an interview with Trevor Noah for The Daily Show on April 29, Anthony Mackie discussed the exciting, and long-awaited, milestone in Marvel history. "It [took] an amazing group of people from different perspectives and different backgrounds to be able to make it a realistic situation for the character and not something that was made up or fictitious when put on the screen," Mackie told Noah, crediting screenwriter Malcolm Spellman for helping craft Wilson's character on screen.
"He really went down that road and fought for the acknowledgment of that turbulent relationship between Black men and America [2]," Mackie said. "As a Black man, you're in an abusive relationship with America. So how do you fight for, stand up and risk your life for a country that has never given you any love, support, appreciation, or trust?"
"I think this is a blip on the radar of what that next generation is going to look like, which is what I'm so excited about."
In collaborating with Spellman, Mackie says he was able to portray Wilson in a way that feels authentic to the experience of Black men in America, which has him — and the rest of the Marvel fandom — hungry to see more. "A lot of people are really excited about the idea of the Falcon becoming Captain America and what that means, not only in the cinematic universe and in the comic book universe, but in our true reality," he said. "Because it gives a younger generation a different perspective and a different way to look at the world . . . I think this is a blip on the radar of what that next generation is going to look like, which is what I'm so excited about."
While we eagerly await more details about Mackie's role in Captain America 4 [3], watch his full interview with Noah above to hear more about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Mackie's movie prep fitness routine.