It seemed like the Leader tease in The Incredible Hulk led to nowhere, but Captain America: Brave New World has brought back Tim Blake Nelson to reprise the role of Samuel Sterns.
While the trailers have been very secretive about his appearance, some promo art has leaked online that gives Nelson an enlarged head and green complexion—just like the Leader in the comics. Check this out:
Official #CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld promo art (1/n) #TheLeader #RedHulk pic.twitter.com/fQ7UfG6760
— Kepler (@kepleravocado) January 1, 2025
It’s unclear exactly what the Leader’s role in the movie is going to be, but people have been theorizing that he’s the one that orchestrated Thunderbolt Ross’ (Harrison Ford) presidential win, and he has something to gain with Ross being outed as the Red Hulk.
While this is just speculation from fans, it does add to the political intrigue that The Winter Soldier has leaned on, only instead of HYDRA, this looks to be one person manipulating everything for some kind of gain; maybe it has something to do with the discovery of adamantium in the corpse of the Celestial Tiamut. It’s already implied to be a more valuable attainable resource than vibranium, and after all that infighting in Wakanda Forever, maybe a new vibranium alternative would make the world explode.
Admittedly, a lot of people are worried about Brave New World with all the news of reshoots, but I am hopeful that Anthony Mackie’s Captain America gets his time to shine and has a solid run. I wouldn’t even mind Harrison Ford hanging out for a few more films.
Captain America: Brave New World is set to come out in theatres on Feb. 14.
