The forthcoming Anthony Mackie-led Captain America film has found its director.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Marvel has enlisted Nigerian-American filmmaker Julius Onah to direct Captain America 4. Onah previously helmed 2018’s The Cloverfield Paradox and 2019’s Luce. He most recently co-wrote the Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic Samo Lives.
The currently-untitled sequel is being written by the 2021 Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman and one of the show’s staff writers, Dalan Musson. Captain America 4 will mark Mackie’s first movie as Captain America, though he’s established himself as a fixture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in his role as Falcon.
Mackie has played Sam Wilson/Falcon since 2014’s Captain America: Winter Soldier, starring Chris Evans as the titular character. So far, Mackie has appeared in a total of five MCU films as well as the aforementioned Disney+ series. Fans speculated he would take over the Captain America role following Avengers: End Game, which saw Evans’ Steve Rogers pass his shield on to Mackie’s Wilson. That storyline continued in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, making Mackie the first Black Actor to play Captain America.
Chris Evans began playing the superhero as Steve Rogers in 2011, and was an MCU staple over the next eight years. 2019’s Avengers: Endgame saw Evans’ character hand over the Captain America shield to Sam Wilson.
The Captain America franchise has earned over $2 billion at the worldwide box office, as 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger grossed over $370 million, while 2014’s The Winter Soldier and 2016’s Civil War took home $714 million and $1.153 billion, respectively.
