Falcon had been in the MCU for years before they finally gave him his white cowl in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but they still ended up scrapping the look for Captain America: Brave the New World. As it turns out, it was something Anthony Mackie himself asked for.
Taking to IGN, Mackie shared, “I told them that I was never wearing that shit again, dude … That was hard. With the heat, the sweat, the fogged-up glasses, it was impossible … It was my worst nightmare. You can’t do anything”
"I told them I was never wearing that s**t again," said Captain America: Brave New World's Anthony Mackie of the white cowl that was introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. pic.twitter.com/GvjCaKARaM
— IGN (@IGN) February 7, 2025
The white cowl had been part of Falcon’s look in the comics, and it had also translated to his Captain America costume when Sam Wilson took on the shield. Admittedly, it was never part of Falcon’s look in the movies, and having the cowl show up in TFATWS was purely a comic tribute.
Personally, I would have preferred if they just gave him a helmet like Steve Rogers, but they probably thought the goggles were enough of a ‘mask’ for the character. He does have that full nano-helmet get-up when he goes super-speed, but it covers Mackie’s face completely—and Marvel really seems to want to push the point that this new Captain America is black.
Admittedly the film has gone through a lot of rewriting and reshooting which got a lot of fans worried; but early reviews have been great, and Brave New World should be a good first solo movie for Sam Wilson’s Cap.
Catch Captain America: Brave New World when it comes to cinemas this weekend on Feb. 14.
