New Captain America Costume Reveal Has Me Relieved About Sam Wilson’s Solo Movie Debut

New set photos from the production of Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World have made me much more excited about Sam Wilson’s upcoming theatrical MCU debut as Captain America. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson finally embraced his new role as Captain America in 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and was quickly confirmed to be making the move to the big screen in 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World. After a series of delays, script adjustments, and controversy, I’m relieved that new updates concerning the new Captain America sequel spell good news.

It was slightly disappointing to see that Sam Wilson had originally replaced his white-and-blue Captain America costume from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in the initial first-look images for Captain America: Brave New World. Sam’s new costume was standard blue, which is perhaps more typical for the Captain America mantle but not for the character himself. My concerns disappeared in June, however, as new set photos from Captain America: Brave New World’s reshoots revealed that Sam Wilson will once again sport his original costume, making me more excited about the upcoming Phase 5 movie.

Sam Wilson’s Original Costume Helps Differentiate Him From Steve Rogers

The finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+ put Sam Wilson in his new Captain America suit for the first time, and this was brilliant to see. Keeping the wingsuit from his Falcon days, his vibranium suit offers him abilities that Steve Rogers could only dream of, which was why it came as an even bigger shock when this suit was seemingly retired for Captain America: Brave New World. Initial first look images for Captain America: Brave New World showed Sam in standard blue costumes, which were more reminiscent of some of Steve Rogers’ outfits.

In particular, Sam Wilson’s blue Captain America costume is distinctly similar to Steve Rogers’ stealth suit that he used during Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While this hinted at some of The Winter Soldier’s political and societal themes being repeated in Brave New World, I was really disappointed to bid farewell to the white-and-blue costume. It’s great to know that Sam Wilson’s original Captain America suit will be making a return, particularly since this is his iconic appearance from Marvel Comics and establishes him as a unique hero rather than simply a copy of Steve Rogers.

Sam Wilson Can’t Just Be Steve Rogers 2.0

There are a lot of eyes on Captain America: Brave New World, as the Phase 5 movie marks the first time that a legacy hero will lead their own feature film in the MCU. There’s no doubt that Sam Wilson’s upcoming adventure will take inspiration from Chris Evans’ adventures as Steve Rogers, even continuing throughlines from previous Captain America movies, such as the mantle’s relationship to the government and Thaddeus Ross, in particular. However, despite sharing similarities, we need to see Sam Wilson set himself apart from Steve Rogers.

A great way to do this would be in the new Captain America costume, as Sam’s white-and-blue vibranium armor is wildly different from anything Steve Rogers wore in the Infinity Saga. Sam Wilson has a completely different perspective than Steve Rogers, so we need to be shown that he is using his unique worldview to separate himself from the previous Captain America. Keeping Sam Wilson in blue Captain America costumes would bear too many similarities to Steve Rogers’ former hero, so bringing back his original suit for Captain America: Brave New World is a fantastic choice.

How Else Sam Wilson Can Differ From Steve Rogers

Aside from the return of his original costume, there are many other ways in which Sam Wilson will be a very different Captain America to Steve Rogers. I thought it was especially poignant that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier put focus on Sam’s hesitation to become Captain America because of his identity as a Black man living in the United States. It was bold for Marvel Studios to shine light on the fact that a minority would struggle with the prospect of being a patriotic symbol, which is something that Steve Rogers never had to deal with.

Additionally, Sam Wilson doesn’t have any innate superhuman abilities, unlike Steve Rogers, who was enhanced by the super-soldier serum. Sam is just a regular guy in a suit of armor, and while Steve begged to become a soldier, Sam had the Captain America mantle thrust upon him, so his perspective will be vastly different. On top of all this, Captain America: Brave New World may see Sam Wilson form a new Avengers team, but whether they’ll take to him as a leader just because he’s Captain America is another question that I’m interested to see answered.