Captain America 4 director Julius Onah explains the meaning behind the New World Order title of the upcoming sequel film. Captain America 4 will be the first film in the franchise not to star Chris Evans in the titular role. Instead, Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson will take up the mantle following the events of Avengers: Endgame and his Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The past two Captain America movies, The Winter Solider and Civil War, have taken their names from comic book runs. Captain America 4's subtitle, New World Order, was officially confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. It's likely a reference to the Red Skull organization of the same name from the comics. However, little else has been known about the New World Order title until now.
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Speaking with IGN, Onah shed light on the meaning behind the Captain America 4 title, explaining it's in reference to what Sam will face in the movie, especially compared to Steve Rogers. Check out Onah's quote below:
What does that mean? The decisions he's going to have to make, and the situations he's going to be confronted with are radically different from what Steve Rogers had to deal with. And as a result of that, because he's a leader, now, of this team, he's got to make decisions that are going to have massive implications. So, the world has changed around him and he's a changed man, and I think that leads to some really exciting storytelling.
While The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and other projects in the MCU Phase 4 have already begun to tackle the issues caused by Thanos' snap, it makes sense that Captain America 4 will expand on those themes. As Onah explains, the title reflects that Sam is stepping up both as a leader and as a symbol in this new world. However, it is unclear what team the new Captain America will be leading. The possibilities range from teaming up with Joaquín Torres (Danny Ramirez), who becomes the Falcon in Marvel Comics, all the way to leading the Avengers.
It's clear Captain America 4 is taking the opportunity to tell new kinds of stories with Sam Wilson. Not only does he have to become a symbol on a worldwide stage, but he also has to live up to the standard that his predecessor set. While Sam in the MCU has taken a different path from his comic book origins to become Captain America, it sounds like he will face similar issues to his comic book counterpart while also putting his own spin on Captain America completely separate from Steve Rogers. Of course, in order to keep a franchise from stagnating, things do need to evolve. A new Captain America in a world where citizens are still reacting to a global phenomenon is the kind of exciting story the MCU should be telling.