Captain America: Brave New World will feature several villains pitted against the noticeably non-superpowered Sam Wilson in his first starring role on the big screen in the MCU, and I’m concerned that the one I’m most excited about will be sidelined. I’ve been excited about Captain America: Brave New World since it was first announced for many reasons. Seeing Sam Wilson in the titular role for the first time since he accepted it in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is one of these reasons, but I was also curious to see which villains would appear in Brave New World.
My excitement was then supercharged when it was announced that Red Hulk and other characters typically tied to Bruce Banner would be starring in this Captain America movie. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t a more applicable enemy for Cap to face while lamenting the fact that we’ll probably never get to see Hulk pitted against his red nemesis. This changed when a Hollywood legend was confirmed to be portraying one of Captain America’s most longstanding enemies – though I now worry if he’ll get the screentime he deserves.
Giancarlo Esposito’s Marvel Villain Debut Is Seriously Exciting For More Than One Reason
The Debut Has Been Long-Awaited
Giancarlo Esposito, best known for portraying Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian, is portraying Seth Voelker AKA Sidewinder in Captain America: Brave New World. According to Esposito, this role is much unlike his most famous, as Sidewinder is a far more physical character who will likely be giving Cap a run for his money in combat. While Giancarlo Esposito’s involvement is exciting in itself, bringing Sidewinder to life on the big screen has been a long time coming for fans of Captain America’s Marvel history.
Captain America: Civil War was initially unveiled as Captain America: Serpent Society as a smokescreen to save the big reveal for last when MCU Phase 3 was revealed in 2014.
Sidewinder is the leader of the Serpent Society and one of Captain America’s obscure yet no less iconic supervillains. He leads the Serpent Society, a functional union of villainous mercenaries that boast various snake-based powers in Marvel Comics. While the grounded tones of Captain America: Brave New World (Red Hulk notwithstanding) may preclude the MCU from pursuing such zany powers on the big screen, I think their involvement in a Captain America project is still an exciting prospect. The only issue I can see now is that Red Hulk’s involvement might overshadow their MCU debut.
Captain America: Brave New World’s Villain Number Makes Sidewinder’s Debut Complicated
Two High-Profile Villains Risk Causing Sidewinder To Take A Back Seat
Captain America is set to face off against two powerhouse Marvel villains in Red Hulk and the Leader. From the Captain America: Brave New World trailer, Cap’s fight with Red Hulk looks like it will be the main attraction and the Leader’s manipulations from behind the scenes are unlikely to be upstaged by a collection of mercenaries. I’m not complaining about their involvement, of course, as I can’t wait to see how Sam will work around the significant gulf in power between him and both gamma-powered villains – but I wonder how much time will be afforded to Esposito’s performance.
Instead, it looks like Sidewinder and the Serpent Society could have been included as a secondary subset of villains to accentuate Sam Wilson’s powers.
Instead, it looks like Sidewinder and the Serpent Society could have been included as a secondary subset of villains to accentuate Sam Wilson’s powers. Instead of making the flagship character of Brave New World look comparatively powerless for the majority of the movie, it could be that Sam Wilson is able to wipe the floor with a highly skilled contingent of mercenaries to prove that he is just as much a powerful superhero as his MCU co-stars. I’m pretty excited to see Sam and Seth’s showdown nonetheless, and it is thankfully likely that this won’t be Esposito’s only MCU appearance.
Giancarlo Esposito Spoke About Future Appearances
I think there is a lot of potential to explore with the Serpent Society and Sidewinder. While they could be considered B-tier villains, the MCU has repeatedly proved that it can shoot obscure characters into superstardom time and again. Sidewinder looks like he could be next in line based on his minimal yet punchy appearances in the trailer. Thankfully, it looks as though Sidewinder will survive his encounter with Captain America and reassert himself in a future MCU installment, as Giancarlo Esposito revealed in an interview with ABC how he hopes to develop the character.
Part of the incorporation of Sidewinder’s colors I brought into the costume that I’m wearing. I’m hoping that it gives them inspiration in movies to come that will allow me to take on more of that serpent persona. You’ve never seen me play a character like this. This guy knows how to use a rifle, a pistol, knives, [he is] very, very physical, active with his physicality, punches, kicks, all that.
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Not only is this a good sign for Sidewinder’s continued involvement, but I’m glad to hear that Esposito hopes to lean into the serpentine aspect of Sidewinder. I’m totally on board with grounded portrayals of comic book characters in superhero movies, of course, but I also know how well the MCU handles the more outlandish aspects of its comic book adaptations, and there’s plenty of potential with Seth Voelker. Hopefully, Captain America: Brave New World will give some kind of clear hint as to how Voelker can return, but now we’ll have to wait and see on February 14.
Captain America: Brave New World
- Release Date
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February 14, 2025
- Director
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Julius Onah
- Writers
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Dalan Musson, Malcolm Spellman
Upcoming MCU Movies
Source: ABC