Anthony Mackie has been competitive with co-star Chris Evans since their Captain America: The Winter Soldier days for a peculiar reason.

Anthony Mackie is all the rage these days with his Captain America debut. Although the actor has been part of the Marvel franchise for a long time, this is his first solo movie.

Anthony Mackie as the new Captain America | Credits: Marvel Studios

Admittedly, the hype has been unreal, and if early reviews are anything to go by, Mackie more than proved his worth as the successor of the shield. Fans are aware that the actor had actually wanted to be a part of the franchise for a while before he got the chance in 2014.

What he didn’t count on, though, was how competitive he would become with his co-star, i.e., Chris Evans. However, that is exactly what happened, until in a strange twist of fate, Anthony Mackie ended up taking over from Evans for the role he was best known for.

Anthony Mackie was competitive of Chris Evans during Captain America: The Winter Soldier

As stated above, Anthony Mackie admitted to wanting to be a part of the MCU for a long time to Vulture. Although his chance came after about 5 years or so of trying, when he finally managed to meet Marvel executives, he was disappointed.

Chris Evans as Captain America in Avengers: Endgame | Credits: Marvel Studios

The reason behind that was how secretive they were about their projects. Moreover, Mackie recalled that they only asked him if they had any upcoming movies whether he would wanna be a part of that.

While Mackie jumped on the chance, he wasn’t sure it would amount to anything. Fortunately, about a month after this meeting he had the script for Captain America: The Winter Soldier in his hands, and became an official part of the franchise.

However, he didn’t expect his competitive streak to get riled up during the movie’s filming. As he stated in the interview, one of the major aspects of being part of that universe is that the actors have to be in optimum shape.

As such, Anthony Mackie’s goal became to be “super buff” to give even Chris Evans a run for money. Notably, Evans has already been hailed for his glorious physique in the Captain America suit by fans for a long time. This amped up Mackie even more, and he wanted to show off the fruits of his labor in a similar spandex suit.

I told them I wanted Spandex! I was in the gym like a monster working out for that movie, and I said, ‘If Chris gets to wear tight shirts, I want tight shirts! I want Spandex, everything Spandex!’ My choice would have been red Spandex, head to toe.

However, his appeal fell on deaf ears, as “they shot [him] down”. Regardless, he was pleased with the way his final costume turned out. As he stated to MovieWeb, “My gear looks dope and I get to kick a lot of ass”.

Anthony Mackie’s dreams of showing off his physique in a spandex suit, though, remained. As it stands, his luck was in his favor as he ended up literally taking the shield from Evans’ Steve Rogers at the end of Avengers: Endgame.

Anthony Mackie is being hailed as a worthy Captain America in Captain America: Brave New World

Be it luck, or tenacity, Anthony Mackie’s dreams became a reality with the release of Captain America: Brave New World. While his magnificent suit has been gaining a lot of praise, the actor himself too is not far behind. In fact, the early reviews stated that he not only proved his worth as a superhero movie star, he exceeded many fans’ expectations.

Anthony Mackie in Captain America: Brave New World | Credits: Marvel Studios

His co-star Harrison Ford, who debuted in the franchise as the Red Hulk has also been earning his fair share of acclamation from the audience. While the movie got some mixed reviews, many fans have claimed that this seems like the old Marvel coming back.

Moreover, they seem to believe this is a step in the right direction as the last few projects have majorly disappointed fans. Marvel, too, gambled big with the movie as not only was Captain America: Brave New World their 2025 headliner, but it also made way for the future projects the studio has lined up.

With Thunderbolts releasing in a few months, to Fantastic Four: First Steps in July, MCU seems to have a year full of surprises for fans. Nevertheless, with Captain America: Brave New World setting up the premise, fans seem hopeful for the franchise’s future.

You can watch Captain America: Brave New World at your nearest theaters.