Anthony Mackie’s Captain America: Brave New World features a pivotal post-credits scene teasing future MCU events. Here’s what it means!

Anthony Mackie’s Captain America: Brave New World has finally arrived in theaters. But sadly, it doesn’t look good for Marvel despite people’s expectations surrounding a respectable opening weekend at the box office.

It seems that although Mackie took over the mantle of Captain America, people aren’t quite happy with what they saw.

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

Perhaps, the fact that Captain America: Brave New World is deeply rooted in the MCU’s past didn’t sit well with audiences. But hey, most Marvel movies usually drop the biggest clue that connects the future—at the end of the film with the iconic post-credit scene. So, did Anthony Mackie’s movie skip the post-credit scene? Let’s check out.

Is there a post-credit scene in Captain America: Brave New World? 

Fans walking into Anthony Mackie‘s Captain America: Brave New World might probably be wondering if they should stay in their seats after the movie ends. After all, Marvel has been unpredictable lately. Despite making post-credit scenes an essential part of the movie experience, Marvel has now started either skipping post-credit scenes or keeping them to a minimum.

But worry not, for the good news is that Captain America: Brave New World does have a post-credit scene! But there’s a catch. Unlike older MCU movies that featured multiple extra scenes, this one only has a single post-credit scene—but it’s definitely worth staying for.

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

Most importantly, the post-credit at the end of Mackie’s film isn’t just a throwaway gag or an Easter egg for die-hard fans. Instead, it serves as a crucial setup for what’s coming next in the MCU. While the movie itself focuses on Sam Wilson’s journey as the new Captain America, this post-credit scene hints at bigger events unfolding in the background.

Captain America: Brave New World ending explained

We’ve already learned from trailers and interviews that the crux of Brave New World involves Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson aka the new Captain America and Harrison Ford’s President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross trying to figure out how to work together for the greater good. In the movie, Ross thus extends an olive branch to Sam and asks him to help reform the Avengers.

But when Ford’s character is almost killed in an assassination attempt by an apparently brainwashed Isaiah Bradley (played by Carl Lumbly), the president abruptly decides that his partnership with Captain America is over. Later on, we get to see Tim Blake Nelson reprising his role as Samuel Sterns aka The Leader from the 2008 movie The Incredible Hulk.

And as it appears, Sterns is subtly manipulating events, and specifically President Ross, from afar. It’s all an attempt to get revenge on Ross, who has kept Sterns imprisoned since the events of The Incredible Hulk. So after various hijinks and lukewarm action sequences, we finally get to see Harrison Ford turning into the Red Hulk and battling Anthony Mackie’s Captain America.

Sam Wilson and Red Hulk’s fight scene | image: Marvel Studios

But as expected, at the end of the film Sam Wilson defeats Red Hulk, and Thaddeus Ross is sent to the superpowered prison, The Raft, following his Red Hulk rampage, to serve his time. So in the ending sequence, Ross willingly surrenders to let the country move on. And Sam, still seeing the good in Ross despite his mistakes, helped bring the president’s daughter, Betty (Liv Tyler), to visit him.

Eventually, the film ends with Anthony Mackie’s character visiting his friend Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), aka the new Falcon, in the hospital, since he was injured during the epic action scene near Celestial Island and was in critical condition. During his visit, Sam tells Joaquin that the world needs the Avengers, and therefore, he’s deciding to rebuild the team with Joaquin as his first recruit.

What happens in Captain America: Brave New World post-credit scene?

Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns in Captain America: Brave New World | image: Marvel Studios

So, if the ending scene of Captain America: Brave New World already teased the possible formation of a new Avengers team, what exactly did the post-credit scene feature? Let’s break it down.

Well, once the final moments of the credits roll, the movie took the audience back to The Raft prison with Sam Wilson visiting Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns. Therein, as the two characters start having a conversation, Sterns gives both a threat and a warning to the new Captain America. He notifies Sam that the multiverse is going to bring something bigger and powerful that will want to take over.

We share the same world, don’t we? This world you would die to save. It’s coming. I’ve seen it in the probabilities. Seen it plain as day. All you heroes protecting this world. You think you’re the only ones? You think this is the only world? We’ll see what happens when you have to protect this place…from the others. 

Samuel Sterns’ gamma-powered superintelligence allows him to see things with high levels of intuition, statistical probability, and knowledge. So, according to this post-credit scene, which might sound vague and frustrating to most general audiences, Sterns have witnessed incoming threats that might pose a challenge for the superheroes. And while warning Sam, Sterns seemingly set up the stage for the next MCU crossover: Avengers: Doomsday.

What does Samuel Sterns’ threat mean and who are the others? 

As of now, who “the others” are, is still a bit of a mystery. But considering that Doomsday and Secret Wars are waiting in the pipeline, Samuel Sterns could be hinting at the future appearance of beings called the Beyonders. Since their story is deeply connected to Doctor Doom and has comic book ties to the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, Beyonders could be the upcoming threat.

So one thing is for sure, Robert Downey Jr‘s Doctor Doom won’t come alone. He might be joined by his own evil version of The Avengers, perhaps the Dark Avengers. Further, the rumors of Chris Evans’ return for Avengers: Doomsday might now have a new meaning, where he could play the evil Hydra version of Captain America—introduced in Marvel Comics in 2016 and is known as Hydra Supreme.

Menacing villain Doctor Doom | image: Marvel Comics

Finally, the other big theory is that the “others” coming could be Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Both characters are set to appear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps—releasing before Avengers: Doomsday. And since Galactus is a devourer of worlds, he might be a larger multiversal threat in the MCU.

Captain America: Brave New World is currently running at theaters worldwide.