Director tapped Ant-Man and Black Widow to craft Captain America: Brave New World. From heist vibes to spy thrills, is this the secret sauce for Sam Wilson’s big debut? [link] #MCU #CaptainAmerica #AnthonyMackie

Captain America: Brave New World crash-landed in theaters on February 14, 2025, thrusting Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson into the spotlight as the MCU’s new shield-bearer. It’s a bold pivot—new team, new Cap, new stakes—after a rocky production journey that tested Marvel’s mettle. Now, with the film out, director Julius Onah is peeling back the curtain on his creative process, revealing an unexpected twist: he turned to Ant-Man and Black Widow for inspiration. As detailed in a February 22, 2025, FandomWire article, Onah didn’t just lean on the Captain America trilogy or The Falcon and the Winter Soldier—he dug into these underdog gems to shape a fresh take on Sam’s star-spangled saga. Why these films? And how did they fuel a movie that’s kicking off a new Avengers era? Let’s dive into Onah’s playbook and see what’s cooking.

A New Cap, A New Canvas

(L-R): Prime Minister Ozaki (Takehiro Hira), Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), and President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 MARVEL.

Sam Wilson’s ascent to Captain America isn’t just a costume swap—it’s a seismic shift for the MCU. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) handed him the shield in Avengers: Endgame, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier forged his resolve, but Brave New World is his big-screen baptism. Onah, stepping into the MCU from indie hits like The Cloverfield Paradox, faced a Herculean task: honor Cap’s legacy while carving a distinct path for Sam, a hero without super-soldier serum but brimming with heart. In a chat with The Wrap, Onah admitted he was already an MCU fan—“I’ve watched the movies, just like everybody else”—but prepping for Brave New World meant more than casual rewatches. He dissected the franchise, zeroing in on films featuring Sam Wilson and Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (now Harrison Ford), including Ant-Man and Black Widow. These weren’t random picks—they were blueprints for a grounded, scrappy Cap tale.

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow | Marvel Studios

Ant-Man: The Underdog’s Playbook

Ant-Man (2015) isn’t the MCU’s flashiest hit—$519 million doesn’t scream Avengers—but it’s a sleeper gem. Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, a thief turned tiny titan, thrives on wit and improvisation, not raw power. Onah saw echoes of Sam in Scott: both lack the godlike might of Thor or the tech genius of Tony Stark, yet they punch above their weight. “I went back and looked at Ant-Man,” Onah told The Wrap, part of a deep dive into Sam’s orbit. The heist vibe—Scott shrinking into vaults, outsmarting foes—likely seeped into Brave New World’s action. Sam’s no stranger to aerial acrobatics with his Falcon wings, but Onah might’ve borrowed Ant-Man’s knack for clever, small-scale chaos over city-smashing spectacle.

Take Sam’s underdog spirit. In Brave New World, he’s not Steve—he’s a counselor-turned-hero, relying on empathy and grit. Producer Nate Moore likened him to Rocky Balboa, a scrappy everyman earning the mantle. Ant-Man’s charm lies in Scott’s relatability—stealing the suit, fumbling into heroism—and Onah likely tapped that to ground Sam’s journey. The film’s mixed reviews (it sits at 61% on Rotten Tomatoes) suggest it’s no Winter Soldier, but its action—like the Celestial Island fight—has a punchy, practical edge that could nod to Ant-Man’s ingenuity. Did Onah shrink Cap’s scope to amplify his soul? It’s a compelling bet.

Black Widow: Espionage and Edge

Then there’s Black Widow (2021), a $379 million spy flick that traded cosmic stakes for earthbound intrigue. Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff navigates betrayal and family ties, her Red Room-honed skills cutting through a paranoid thriller vibe. Onah revisited it—alongside The Incredible Hulk—because it features Thunderbolt Ross, but its influence runs deeper. “I went back and looked at Black Widow again,” he said, hinting at its imprint on Brave New World’s tone. The trailer’s flickering text and split-screen shots scream political conspiracy, echoing The Parallax View or All the President’s Men—and Black Widow’s DNA is all over that.

Sam’s caught in a global plot in Brave New World, dodging assassins and unraveling a scheme tied to Ross’s presidency. Black Widow’s grounded espionage—Natasha flipping foes, outwitting Widows—offers a template for Sam’s wing-and-shield combat, less about brute force and more about precision. Onah’s film leans into a “paranoid thriller” style, per actress Xosha Roquemore, with Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) as a Ross-aligned ex-Black Widow adding a nod to Natasha’s world. Even Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder, leading the Serpent Society, feels like a Black Widow-style foe—cunning, not cosmic. Onah’s homework paid off: Brave New World’s $180.9 million global opening outpaced Black Widow’s $80.3 million, suggesting he distilled its best parts into something bigger.

Why These Two? A Director’s Method

Why Ant-Man and Black Widow over, say, Civil War’s gravitas or Infinity War’s scale? Onah’s choices reflect Sam’s essence. Both films star heroes who aren’t invincible—Scott’s a dad with a shrink ray, Natasha’s a spy with scars. Sam, too, is human, his “superpower” empathy, as Onah put it. He wanted Sam to “see past his own blind spots” with Ross, a dynamic Black Widow’s family reconciliation mirrors and Ant-Man’s redemption arc complements. These aren’t the MCU’s crown jewels—Ant-Man and Black Widow were “just okay” after delays and hype, per FandomWire—but Onah saw untapped potential in their flaws.

He wasn’t blind to the classics. “All the Captain America movies, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Avengers movies,” he studied those too. But Ant-Man and Black Widow offered something the heavy hitters didn’t: a scrappier, more intimate lens. Sam’s not leading a galactic war—he’s saving a treaty over a Celestial’s minerals (Eternals, anyone?). Onah’s research wasn’t about copying; it was about vibe—blending Ant-Man’s resourcefulness with Black Widow’s tension to make Brave New World feel “genuinely fun,” as he aimed for, despite its 68% second-weekend drop.

The Result: A Mixed Bag with Heart

Did it work? Sort of. Brave New World isn’t revolutionary—critics call it “neither brave nor new”—but it’s got soul. Mackie’s Sam shines, charming and stoic, his counselor roots grounding the chaos. The Red Hulk reveal (Harrison Ford’s Ross) was spoiled by marketing, but the cast—Danny Ramirez as Falcon, Tim Blake Nelson as The Leader—brings spark. Onah’s Ant-Man nod shows in Sam’s wingplay, while Black Widow’s thriller beats pulse in the conspiracy. Yet the CGI’s shaky, the plot’s choppy—hallmarks of a production plagued by reshoots. It’s no Winter Soldier, but it’s not Quantumania either.

Onah’s inspiration reflects a director wrestling with the MCU’s sprawl—35 films, endless lore. He leaned on Ant-Man and Black Widow to keep Sam relatable amid the madness, a choice that echoes their modest charm. Fans see the effort—$100 million in four days isn’t Endgame, but it beats The Marvels. As Sam assembles a new Avengers team (post-credits tease!), Onah’s groundwork hints at payoff in Doomsday or Secret Wars. For now, Brave New World is a scrappy start—proof even mid-tier MCU flicks can spark something bold.