Captain America: Brave New World underperforming at the box office has been addressed by the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s boss. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson went on a journey to become the lead of the MCU’s Captain America movies in both Avengers: Endgame and Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. That led to the first of the MCU’s 2025 movies.

However, despite Sam’s long journey, the addition of Hulk-related characters like The Leader and Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk, and more, Captain America: Brave New World finished its global box office run with $415.1 million (via Box Office Mojo) on a $180 million production budget, far below Chris Evans’ Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s $714.1 million and Civil War‘s $1.15 billion.

During a conversation about the MCU’s future with members of the press, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige (via ᴅᴇᴀᴅline) claimed that Captain America: Brave New World‘s disappointing box office performance was because it “was the first without Chris Evans.” The Steve Rogers actor famously left the role behind in Avengers: Endgame, where an older Steve gave Sam Wilson his shield.

What Kevin Feige’s Captain America: Brave New World’s Comments Mean

The Message Is Clear For The MCU’s Future Projects

Avengers: Endgame saw key characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Black Widow leave the MCU. Marvel Studios has since tried to develop their successors, with Sam Wilson leading a TV show and a movie, while Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova was recently the star of Thunderbolts*, which also underperformed, and Riri Williams’ Ironheart series finally arrived on Disney+.

With Kevin Feige claiming the reason Captain America: Brave New World was not a hit is due to how it was the first Captain America movie without Chris Evans, the message for future MCU movies seems clear. Perhaps legacy heroes might not be the way to go for Marvel. Replacing Evans was always going to be a tall order.

After all, the actor was one of the faces of the MCU alongside Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. With the MCU headed towards a reboot at the end of Avengers: Secret Wars, the future of the franchise might lie in recasting key roles like Evans’ Captain America. Marvel could also bring back Evans for the upcoming Avengers movies.

Our Take On Kevin Feige’s Captain America: Brave New World’s Comments

Based on how Feige believes that Captain America: Brave New World underperforming has to do with it being the first movie without Chris Evans, I don’t think Marvel is going to go all-in on legacy characters like it was doing. Maybe not in solo films at least. Bigger, more established heroes might be better than Captain America: Brave New World‘s situation.

Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline