Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Captain America: Brave New World.
With the release ofCaptain America: Brave New Worldcame the confirmation that certain rumors about the movie were actually entirely wrong.Captain America: Brave New Worldmarks an important point in theMCU’s movie timeline, serving as the first solo movie for Sam Wilson’s Captain America, the debut of Red Hulk, and definitively setting up the franchise’s new team of Avengers. Such a potentially pivotal point in the MCU brought the movie considerable attention, especially ahead of its release.
All through the movie’s production, details aboutCaptain America: Brave New World’s storyand cast were endlessly speculated on, with many rumors swirling. A number of rumors and scoops proved particularly popular, earning widespread attention with those eagerly awaitingBrave New World’s release. However, despite some proving to be surprisingly accurate, others turned out to be entirely wide of the mark. With that in mind, here is everyCaptain America 4scoop, rumor, and lie that turned out to be wrong.
10Giancarlo Esposito Playing GW Bridge
Esposito’s Rumored Role Seemed An Interesting Prospect
Once it was announced that Giancarlo Esposito had been added to theCaptain America: Brave New Worldcastin an undisclosed role, speculation regarding who he might be playing spread. One of the most widely believed theories was that Esposito would be playing George Washington Bridge, a mercenary with ties to SHIELD, the X-Force, and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. This was largely fueled by the release of a trailer, in which Esposito’s then-unnamed character was shown heavily armed and engaging in a firefight.
GW Bridge co-creator, Rob Liefeld, shared the clip online voicing his support, seemingly confirming that Esposito would play the character. However, it turned out not to be true at all, asEsposito actually played Sidewinder, the leader of the Serpent Society, another more villainous mercenary character. Even so, the GW Bridge rumor seemed all too convincing, and marked one of the most interesting disproven theories aboutBrave New World’s cast.
9Frank Simpson Would Appear
Nuke’s Inclusion Seemed Organic To Brave New World’s Story
Another scoop regarding the cast ofBrave New Worldcame when it was revealed that the movie would introduce Frank Simpson, A.K.A Nuke, to themovies of the MCU. A revised take on the character had previously been adapted into live-action inJessica Jones, though it was reported that a reworked version of Nuke would make his formal debut inBrave New World. Ultimately, this turned out not to be true at all.
Considering Nuke’s characterization in the comics, it didn’t seem at all unreasonable that he might play a role inBrave New World. Nuke is essentially an ultra-patriotic super soldier with a serious anger problem brought on by his abuse of power-granting medication. This seemed to fit nicely withBrave New World’s announced narrative regarding Thaddeus Ross’s presidency and the race to control the world’s adamantium. In the end,Nuke was absent from the movie, and the scoop turned out to have been false.
8Moon Knight Would Team Up With Captain America
Moon Knight’s Proposed Return Seemed An Unlikely Prospect
An early rumor regarding other heroes appearing inBrave New Worldasserted that Moon Knight would appear to offer support to Captain America. The hero has yet to reappear since theending ofMoon Knight, and his supposed role inBrave New Worldseemed an interesting prospect. With the movie’s release, the rumor turned out to be entirely untrue.
Weighed up against some of the other rumors regardingBrave New World, Moon Knight’s role never seemed entirely likely. There was no substantial evidence that Moon Knight would appear in the movie, and no noteworthy comic book arcs to draw from to warrant his inclusion.Though it was a prominent rumor early in the movie’s production, Moon Knight being absent from the movie upon release was not a surprising turn of events, as it never seemed especially likely to be true.
7Amadeus Cho Would Appear
The Supporting Hulk Hero’s Debut Would Have Made Sense
Another prominent rumor that was widely circulated ahead ofBrave New World’s release was that the movie would introduce Amadeus Cho to the MCU. The revelation came as part of a scoop that revealed the entire plot of the movie, with Cho’s inclusion being the only significant error in the rumored story. Considering the Hulk-centric nature ofBrave New World’s plot, the rumor made perfect sense in the context of the pre-release buzz surrounding the movie.
Though almost every other detail revealed in the scoop proved accurate,Amadeus Cho was not present inBrave New Worldupon release.This fact alone has many convinced that Cho was once featured in the movie, though there is little by way of concrete evidence to support the theory. Regardless, it’s yet another prominent rumor aboutBrave New Worldthat turned out to be untrue.
6Red Hulk Was Created By Ross On Purpose
A Major Red Hulk Plot Rumor Was Not True
Another supposed scoop during the production ofCaptain America: Brave New Worldrevealed many plot points about the movie. One of these narrative developments involved President Ross deliberately choosing to become Red Hulk, willingly ingesting gamma radiation before transforming. There was initially very little to disprove the rumor, as it had already been revealed that Ross would return and Red Hulk would make his MCU debut.
The release ofCaptain America: Brave New Worlddisproved the scoop, however. In the movie, President Ross had not chosen to become the Red Hulk, but instead transformed as a result of the manipulations of the Leader.Instead of choosing to give himself Hulk abilities, Ross was tricked into it as a means of tarnishing his legacy, ultimately proving that the scoop regarding his motivations in the movie had been wrong.
5She-Hulk Will Show Up
She-Hulk’s Appearance Alongside Other Hulks Seemed Plausible
One of the most convincing rumors surroundingBrave New World’s cast was that it would feature multiple Hulk characters, with various heroes and villains being cited as potentially appearing at various points in its production. Among these was She-Hulk, who was widely speculated to be a major part ofBrave New World’s cast. Despite having been featured in what was considered one of the worstMCU TV shows, She-Hulk’s supposed reappearance was met with considerable anticipation.
The rumor was proven untrue uponBrave New World’s release, however.Not only was She-Hulk absent from the movie, but so too were the majority of the Hulk characters who had been tipped to appear.Though it seemed at one time to be a perfectly plausible development, those who went intoCaptain America: Brave New Worldhoping to see She-Hulk were ultimately disappointed.
4The Serpent Society’s Major Role
The Serpent Society Were Reportedly Set To Play A Larger Role
Perhaps the most logical disproven rumor surroundingBrave New World’s story involved the movie’s use of the Serpent Society. In the comics, the Serpent Society is a team of snake-themed villains who are primarily antagonists of Captain America stories. The announcement of various castings in undisclosed roles led to rumors that the Serpent Society would play a major role in the movie.
Ahead of release, some of these characters were cut from the film. Though the rumor appears to have been true at some point during production, the decision was made to simply include Sidewinder and Copperhead in supporting roles, with the Serpent Society’s part seemingly being diminished as a result. The rumor itself always contained a kernel of truth, thoughexactly how prevalent the Serpent Society originally were inBrave New World’s story remains to be fully revealed.
3Brave New World Will Pick Up Secret Invasion’s Plot Threads
Secret Invasion’s Story Could Easily Have Led To Brave New World
Secret Invasionmay well have been one of the most disappointing MCU releases in the history of the franchise, but it did set up a number of interesting plot points. The show ended with President Ritson declaring war on alien refugees, and as soon as it was announced thatBrave New Worldwould feature Thaddeus Ross becoming President, rumors began to swirl. The main rumor involvedBrave New Worldpicking upSecret Invasion’s loose plot threads, explaining how Ritson’s presidency ended and alluding to his declaration of war.
Whether the rumor was ever true is unclear, butBrave New Worldcertainly did not explore any ofSecret Invasion’s plot points.Ross winning the presidency at the start of the movie did nothing to explain Ritson’s departure from office, nor didBrave New Worldmake mention of Skrull refugees. Though distancing itself fromSecret Invasionwas almost certainly a wise move,Brave New World’s lack of consistency with the show disproved the rumor about their potential connection.
2Isaiah Bradley Would Suit Up
Bradley’s Captain America Moment Never Came
After being introduced inThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Isaiah Bradley’s announced return inCaptain America: Brave New Worldprompted speculation about his role in the MCU. As it had already been established that Bradley was the forgotten super soldier, and that he still possessed much of his strength and speed, rumors about his role inBrave New Worldwere circulated. On that basis, it was suggested that the movie would see Isaiah Bradley suit up as Captain America in some capacity.
Ultimately,Brave New Worlddid not see Isaiah Bradley suit up – at least, not as a superhero. Though he played a major role in the movie,Bradley did not play one of the movie’s prominent heroes, instead being a victim of the Leader’s brainwashing.Considering his age and the nature ofBrave New World’s story, it made far more sense to only include Bradley in a supporting capacity, and the rumor proved not to be true.
1Old Steve Rogers Would Make A Cameo
Steve Rogers' Return Was Rumored
One of the most prominent rumors aboutCaptain America: Brave New Worldwas that it would feature the return of Steve Rogers to the MCU. After his retirement inAvengers: Endgame, it was revealed that Steve Rogers had lived out the rest of his life in the past, existing in the MCU’s present as an old man. Though this didn’t obviously open the door to his return as Captain America, it didn’t stop speculation that Sam Wilson would interact with the elderly Steve Rogers inBrave New World.
The movie’s release proved that the rumor was simply wishful thinking, though. Steve Rogers was not present at all in its story, asBrave New Worldexplored Sam Wilson’s role as the MCU’s new Captain America. Though fans of Steve Rogers were hopeful that they may have been afforded another glimpse of the retired hero,Captain America: Brave New Worldultimately proved that the rumor of his return was not true.
