Mackie signs on for ‘Captain America 4’ with director Julius Onah

WASHINGTON: Julius Onah, director of “The Cloverfield Paradox” and “Luce,” is set to helm the fourth “Captain America” movie, starring Anthony Mackie and building on the events from the 2021 Disney+ series, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.”

According to Variety, the screenplay is being written by staff writer Dalan Musson and the series creator and head writer Malcolm Spellman. Sam Wilson, played by Sam Mackie, struggles to embrace the mantle of Captain America that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) bestowed upon him at the conclusion of 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” but eventually comes to terms with the title and the cultural significance that goes along with it.

There is no official title or release date for the movie yet, but there is a good chance that Marvel Studios will reveal both at San Diego Comic-Con later this month. This will be the studio’s first presentation at SDCC since 2019, as SDCC was postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

It’s also unknown whether Mackie will be working with any other cast members from “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” such as Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes (also known as the Winter Soldier), Wyatt Russell’s John Walker (also known as the U.S. Agent), Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter (also known as the Power Broker), or Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

Nigerian-born Onah entered the graduate film programme at NYU, and Spike Lee served as executive producer on his thesis project, the 2015 movie “The Girl Is in Trouble.” Then J.J. Abrams hired him to helm a sci-fi space thriller, which finally turned into the 2018 Netflix film “The Cloverfield Paradox.”

The next year, Onah’s independent drama “Luce,” starring Naomi Watts and Tim Roth, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival to rousing praise for its study of the strains facing a white couple and their adopted Black kid, Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Harrison’s leading role in the movie and Onah’s directing were both nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards.