Following backlash to her casting, Marvel Studios has released a statement defending the new Marvel Cinematic Universe hero Sabra set to arrive in Captain America: New World Order. Set for release on May 3, 2024, Captain America: New World Order will focus on Sam Wilson taking on the mantle of the star-spangled Avenger. At D23, it was confirmed that Tim Blake Nelson would reprise his role as The Leader from The Incredible Hulk, but it was also revealed that Unorthodox star Shira Haas would join the film as the Israeli superhero Sabra.
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Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema, Sabra first debuted in The Incredible Hulk comics in 1981 after having a cameo in an issue in 1980. In the character's first appearance, she was working with Mossad, the Israeli secret service, and came into conflict with the Hulk himself thinking he was working with a terrorist organization. Since the announcement of the character, there have been concerns among fans for a variety of reasons. Some are worried about the presence of an Israeli-themed hero given the historical and ongoing conflict between Israeli and Palestine, while others are concerned about putting a Jewish-themed hero in a movie subtitled New World Order, which has connotations of an anti-Semitic conspiracy and now the studio behind the project is speaking in defense of the plan.
Marvel Studios has released a statement to Variety in defense of Captain America: New World Order's new MCU hero casting Sabra following a wave of backlash to her inclusion. The studio's statement confirms that while they look to the comic books for inspiration, the character will be reworked to better fit the MCU. The filmmakers are said to be reimagining the character, likely offering a different backstory and personality to avoid any real-world controversy. Marvel's statement can be read below:
“While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics they are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago.”
Reworking Sabra fits with the MCU's history of reworking characters from the comics to better reflect the 21st century. Marvel Studios' commitment to diversity has also often forced them to confront and rework some troubling and problematic aspects of their comic book history in order to make them work for an adaptation. Shang-Chi was drastically reworked for his feature film, removing the racist caricature Fu Manchu from the character's origin and replacing him with Wenwu, himself a reinvention of the Mandarin, another character with plenty of baggage in terms of adaptation. M'Baku has become one of the faces of the Black Panther franchise, yet the character in the comics sported the offensive name Man-Ape and filmmaker Ryan Coogler drastically reimagined the character.
Sabra's announcement for Captain America: New World Order was certainly a surprise as she has never been the most well-known or established hero and not one anybody would expect to be a priority for joining the MCU. Her limited amount of appearances gives the creative team a certain amount of freedom to reimagine her as opposed to longtime fan-favorite characters like the Fantastic Four or The X-Men. With the film almost two years away, it is unclear how Sabra will factor into the story or in the MCU, but it is safe to say Marvel Studios will need to walk a fine line with the character heading into Captain America: New World Order.