In a surprise casting coup, Marvel Studios has tapped celebrated actor Giancarlo Esposito for a mysterious villainous role in the highly anticipated Captain America: Brave New World. The upcoming fourth Captain America film recently commenced reshoots in Atlanta, with Esposito officially joining the ensemble cast during this additional photography period.
While specific details about Esposito’s character remain tightly under wraps, sources describe the part as a new adversary for Marvel’s star-spangled hero. The acclaimed actor, who earned Emmy nominations for his iconic turns as Gustavo Fring in Breaking Bad and its prequel series Better Call Saul, as well as the formidable Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian, seems poised to leave his sinister mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Esposito himself stoked speculation about his Marvel future during a fan event in Brazil earlier this year. “There’s something about being original,” he teased. “Wouldn’t you like to see me play a character in a Marvel movie who is original, and new, and fresh? So, mark my words: This will happen sooner than you think.”
Those prophetic words proved accurate, as the seasoned actor joins the stacked Brave New World ensemble led by Anthony Mackie’s newly-minted Captain America, Sam Wilson. An action-packed first look at the film screened at CinemaCon drew comparisons to 2014’s grounded political thriller Captain America: The Winter Soldier from Marvel chief Kevin Feige himself.
Along with Mackie’s Wilson and Esposito’s mystery villain, the Brave New World cast includes Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, Rosa Salazar, and Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. Directed by Julius Onah, the film pits Cap against brain-washed assassins in a globe-trotting adventure originally penned by Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson, with additional scripting by Matthew Orton.
No stranger to villainy across film, television, and animation, Esposito has portrayed iconic antiheroic forces like the nefarious Stan Edgar on The Boys and the voice of Lex Luthor in Harley Quinn. His entrance into the ever-expanding MCU marks another high-profile role suited to the veteran character actor’s unique ability to humanize menacing antagonists.
Following reshoots expected to wrap by early summer, Captain America: Brave New World will soar into theaters on February 14th, 2025 as part of Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Multiverse Saga. With the addition of Giancarlo Esposito’s unspecified but undoubtedly dastardly threat, Sam Wilson’s fourth solo outing as Cap could emerge as one of the MCU’s most formidable foes yet.