Summary
- Captain America: Brave New World faced massive reshoots with extensive rewrites that toned its storylines.
- The addition of Giancarlo Esposito and restructuring of major scenes improved the movie quality.
- New writer Matthew Orton was brought in to assist reshoots post-poor initial test scores alignment.
When it comes to Hollywood productions, reshoots are typically scheduled ahead of time. Most of the time, these reshoots are minor. In the case of Captain America: Brave New World, however, the Marvel Studios feature underwent massive reshoots that brought in a new writer to tweak the rewrites ahead of reshoots earlier this year. While it's unclear what was changed during those rewrites, the first trailer for Captain America: Brave New World suggests that the reshoots might've benefited the project.
The film has faced plenty of critiques from fans who were less than impressed by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. So, naturally, when it was revealed that the movie would have to undergo massive rewrites, many were left wondering if the film was a mess behind-the-scenes. Now, with an official trailer having been released, it looks like the reshoots managed to help the movie capture the feel of the Captain America movies before it, and that's definitely a good thing.
Captain America: Brave New World Might Have Another Twist Behind Red Hulk
Captain America: Brave New World has used Red Hulk prominently in its marketing efforts. Could there be a twist behind the character?
Sam Wilson's Journey to the Big Screen as Captain America
Captain America: Brave New World is the successor to the limited Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which saw Sam Wilson battle to become Captain America. That series also had its own issues, which resulted in reshoots to try and fix the series in post-production. Unfortunately, though, the rewrites didn't seem to help the series all that much, with it often being hailed as uneven and lacking a solid story. Reports suggested the series had a pandemic storyline that needed to be adjusted following COVID-19. With a tight release schedule, however, and restrictions from the real-life pandemic, the series failed to juggle the many storylines it sought to tell over the course of six episodes. Despite fans being excited to see Sam Wilson take on the Captain America moniker and sport Steve's iconic shield, many were left confused as to why Marvel Studios sought to bring back the writers behind the Disney+ series to pen a fourth Captain America installment. Then early reports suggested the film hadn't tested all that well, and then in December, it was revealed Marvel Studios had hired a new writer to work on rewrites for the reshoots in the spring.
By the time the first footage was shown at Cinema Con, it seemed like the studio had managed to right the wrongs in the film, with many claiming the footage was good. A sentiment shared by fans when the first trailer for the movie dropped and showcased a movie that looked to take inspiration from one of Marvel's strongest titles, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. With a solid trailer, and fans beginning to show excitement, Captain America: Brave New World looks to have finally secured the excitement it was lacking prior to the reshoots and that's a good thing.
What Changed in the Reshoots?
It's unknown what exactly changed with the reshoots on Captain America: Brave New World. However, there looks to have been the addition of at least one character, with actor Giancarlo Esposito having joined the production earlier this year. He's set to appear as Sidewinder in the film, the leader of the Serpent Society in the comics. The Serpent Society was always expected to be a part of the movie, with Rosa Salazar set to play Diamondback in the movie. However, the addition of Esposito seems to suggest the Serpent Society is going to be a bit more important to the film. Especially as it's been said that the movie had to remove three major set pieces, which was part of the reason for the massive reshoots. This was the result of negative test scores at early test screenings for the movie. Matthew Orton, who worked on Marvel Studios' Moon Knight, was the man the studio selected to help pen the rewrites for reshoots. Orton wrote the episode "Asylum," which remains one of the highest rated episodes of the series with a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
While Moon Knight isn't one of the highest rated projects by Marvel Studios, the series was a lot more cohesive than The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Bringing in an up-and-coming writer like Orton, who managed to pen a fantastic piece of television for the studio, was a smart move. The Captain America films are known for being thrillers with incredible action sequences. It's something The Falcon and the Winter Soldier lacked, and that Captain America: Brave New World needed in order to successfully launch Sam Wilson's first big-screen adventure as the star-spangled hero. The reshoots might've been extensive, but from the looks of it, the movie seems to have benefited from them in the end.
Marvel Studios' Captain America: Brave New World is set to hit theaters on February 14th, 2025. For those that need a refresher before the movie hits, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
Fans Excited For Captain America: Brave New World Should Seek Out This Classic That Inspired It
The Manchurian Candidate has influenced many political thrillers, including Sam Wilson's upcoming Captain America film.