As the Young Avengers steadily begin to ᴀssemble in the MCU, a Marvel Studios boss has explained why one of them has been conspicuously omitted from Captain America: Brave New World. While story details for Captain America: Brave New World are still under wraps, rumors suggest that Sam Wilson will be tasked with reforming the Avengers ahead of their team-up in Avengers: Doomsday. Whatever the case, he will be trailing behind Kamala Khan and her attempts to form the Young Avengers, which she began ᴀssembling at the end of The Marvels, starting with Kate Bishop.

Another presumptive member of the younger team is Eli Bradley, whom ex-Marvel VP Nate Moore explained in an exclusive interview with ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley will not be appearing in Captain America: Brave New World. Eli Bradley was first introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as the grandson of Isaiah Bradley, who plays a key role in the upcoming Captain America movie. Despite their constant proximity in this series, however, Moore stated that there was no way of justifiably fitting Eli into the narrative when there wasn’t something specific for him to do. His full quote is as follows:

Liam Crowley: We get to explore a lot more of Isaiah in this film, which I love. He was one of the most rich characters we had introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. He was always paired in that show with Eli Bradley, his grandson. Why this time around just go with Isaiah solo and no Eli?

Nate Moore: There are early drafts of the script where Eli was in it, but we started to feel like there were too many characters to track and we want to make sure if a character is in the film, they have something to do. And so we had to make the tough decision to just explore Isaiah and to see how Isaiah being pulled into Sam’s world maybe affects him. We also wanted Sam and Isaiah. We wanted room to build up their relationship without a third party kind of commenting on it. And so this film is very much about establishing that Isaiah has become not only a mentor to Sam, but a training partner. He is a super soldier. I think it allows Sam to expand on his physical skills, but that relationship might not be the best thing for Isaiah in the long run.

What Nate Moore’s Comments About Eli Bradley Mean

Eli Bradley Won’t Be Helping Sam Wilson In His Missions

Nate Moore seems to be suggesting that filmmakers wished to avoid over-stuffing Captain America: Brave New World. The movie already boasts a stacked cast with at least three villains, something that Moore acknowledges in his response, and each should be afforded a generous amount of screentime alongside Cap himself. Given the probability that Eli Bradley will become a Young Avenger like his comic book counterpart, it stands to reason that Moore wishes to avoid sidelining the character on-screen and making it appear as though he is of little importance.

He is also stressing the importance of Isaiah Bradley and Sam Wilson’s relationship. In the Captain America: Brave New World trailer, we can see Sam attempting to help Isaiah after what appears to be a brainwashing-induced ᴀssᴀssination attempt with Isaiah wearing a prison uniform. It’s hard to see how Eli could be incorporated into these one-on-one interactions and Sam’s attempts to help Isaiah. This also suggests that Eli will not boast any superpowers that could help in Sam’s fight against such villains as the Red Hulk.

Our Take On Nate Moore’s Comments About Eli Bradley

It Makes Sense To Avoid Taking The Spotlight Away From Sam Wilson

Knowing that an over-stuffed cast can make or break a movie (like Spider-Man 3, for example), I’m inclined to agree with the decision to scrap Eli where he won’t play an important role in the story. Captain America: Brave New World looks like it will be laser-focused on establishing Sam Wilson’s tenure as Cap, and it needs to do this without also spotlighting another upcoming hero in the form of Eli Bradley. Besides, I’m sure there will be plenty of scope to reintroduce the Young Avenger in an upcoming MCU production like Vision’s solo series or Avengers: Doomsday.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Captain America: Brave New World

  Release Date

  
  February 14, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Thunderbolts*

  Release Date

  
  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

  Release Date

  
  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
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  Spider-Man Homecoming 4

  Release Date

  
  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date

  
  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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