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Sam Wilson is Captain America, confirms Chris Evans

Sam Wilson has long carried the mantle of Captain America not just in the MCU, but in the comics too, and he has Chris Evans's support

Charlotte Colombo's Avatar

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Marvel Cinematic Universe 

Sam Wilson made history in the Marvel universe in 2014, becoming the first African American to hold the title of Captain America. However, after news broke that Anthony Mackie, who portrays Sam in the MCU, would be fronting a fourth Captain America movie as the hero, racist discourse began to spill out online.

The discourse started when The Hollywood Reporter didn’t mention in in its Twitter coverage of Captain America 4 that Mackie had played the hero in previous Marvel projects. Although the outlet later clarified that “Anthony Mackie IS Captain America,” this didn’t stop certain fans trying to discredit the current position of Sam Wilson, who was previously a hero under the moniker Falcon, as Captain America.

This led to “Sam Wilson is Captain America” trending on Twitter and Chris Evans, who previously played Steve Rogers in the MCU, speaking out on the subject, simply tweeting, “Sam Wilson is Captain America.” The character of Sam Wilson has long carried the mantle of Captain America not just in the Marvel movies, but in the comics too. He was named the next Captain America by Steve Rogers back in 2014, in the comic Captain America #25.

Meanwhile, in the Marvel movies, Sam Wilson has been Captain America since 2019, wherein Steve Rogers passed on the mantle to him after deciding to stay in the past and live out his life with Peggy Carter instead.

The 2021 Disney Plus series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, focussed on Sam’s reluctance to take on the name and wield the shield before ultimately deciding to become Captain America — complete with a new suit from Wakanda — in the five-time Emmy-nominated series’ final episode.

Since then, Phase 4 of the MCU has referred to Sam as Captain America, with the end title card of the drama series saying, “Captain America will return.” Most recently, Captain Marvel and and Ant-Man both referred to Sam as Captain America in Avengers: Quantum Encounter— a short film accompanying a new Disney cruise ship.

Captain America 4, starring Anthony Mackie, doesn’t yet have a release date, but we’ll keep you informed.

Charlotte is a Staff Writer at The Digital Fix. Working primarily with the news team, she helps cover the latest happenings across the MCU, the DCU, and Star Wars.  She also keeps her co-workers updated on the latest social media trends (partly against their will).
Charlotte graduated with an MA in Magazine Journalism in 2021 from City, University of London, but she's been covering entertainment, lifestyle, and the internet as a freelance journalist since 2020. Her previous bylines include The Independent, VICE, Stylist, Glamour, Metro.co.uk, and The Daily Dot, among others. Before The Digital Fix, she interned at Business Insider, and since joining the team, she has covered events like Comic-Con, London Film Festival, and Star Wars Celebration. Just don't ask her about Five Nights at Freddy's and the Bite of '87.