Captain America: Brave New World director Julius Onah opened up about the behind-the-scenes decisions that led to overhauling the character design of Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns/the Leader. The film underwent extensive reshoots, with one of the speculated changes being the Leader’s appearance, which was initially closer to his comic book appearance. Brave New World has received a mixed reception, faring better with fans than critics, and the Leader’s look has similarly left fans undecided.
Though he did not outright confirm the character was redesigned, Onah spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the Leader and why they kept from revealing his design in the film’s marketing. He explained: “You want to shroud this villain and mystery, but you also want to make Sam’s investigation be what drives the release of information and ultimately the reveal of this villain.” The director elaborated that he “always liked this idea of keeping him in shadows.”
Per Onah, the Leader is intentionally “in shadow or in silhouette” towards the beginning of the film, “then when Sam arrives at the truth, that’s when [the viewer] really get[s] to properly meet him.” Onah said that “in terms of his look, the goal was, ‘How do we ground it into the world of this film?,’‘” which is why they “began very practically in terms of applications that were being utilized and makeup that was being utilized to create him.” The design had grounding elements like “eyes that could tell the story of a guy who’s also gamma radiated.“
In December, Nelson also discussed his character’s appearance. The actor explained: “I requested that we do what we were going to do, practically, which was a huge help, because I liked being able to feel the weight of the deformation on my head, rather than just wearing dots.“
What Julius Onah’s Comments About The Leader’s Design Mean
The Leader was intially introduced in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk as a scientist who aids Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Ed Norton) before becoming infected with his Gamma-irradiated blood. He was absent from the franchise for over 15 years, making his return in Brave New World. The Leader seeks to enact revenge on Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross/Red Hulk, who imprisoned him during the time he was absent from the broader MCU plot. Years ago, Onah teased the character’s master plan, stating:
We are all paranoid, and hopefully we’re all thrilled as well. This is a movie, like the previous Captain American movies, that [leans] into the tradition of this genre. And what’s so great in this film is Sam Wilson has an incredible adversary in The Leader, played by Tim Blake Nelson, this brilliant mastermind who’s always 1-2-3-4 steps ahead.
Given Onah’s older and more recent statements, it seems his goal in making the Leader appear more deformed was to make his motives more believable. Giving him a visible representation of what Ross did to him theoretically elicits more sympathy from the audience while making hs appearance more menacing. Moreover, keeping the reveal hidden from the film’s promotional materials makes the Leader’s deformity more shocking.
Our Take On Julius Onah’s Comments About The Leader’s Design
Sometimes, taking a big creative swing pays off, and other times, it doesn’t. The Leader’s design is grotesque, which works for some audience members and not for others. Moreover, many had hoped for a more comic-accurate iteration of the character. Onah and the powers that be at Marvel Studios clearly had a vision for a distinct version of the supervillain, and for better or worse, Captain America: Brave New World is defined by how the viewer reacts to this character and his effect on the plot.
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