Anthony Mackie clarifies ‘Captain America’ remarks: ‘proud American’

Anthony Mackie is clearing the air.

Following a significant amount of backlash to his recent remark that “the term ‘America’” should not be “one of the representations” associated with his Marvel character, Captain America, Mackie took to Instagram Stories to state, “Let me be clear about this, I’m a proud American.”

“Taking on the shield of a hero like CAP is the honor of a lifetime,” he continued on the story posted Jan. 28. “I have the utmost respect for those who serve and have served our country. CAP has universal characteristics that people all over the world can relate to.”

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to Marvel and Mackie for comment.

The reverse course came following comments Mackie made on stage at an event in Rome promoting the actor’s newest showing as the star-spangled supe, Captain America: Brave New World.

“To me Captain America represents a lot of different things, and I don’t think the term ‘America’ should be one of those representations,” Mackie said in a clip circulated online early this morning by several attendees. “It’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor, dignity and integrity. Someone who is trustworthy and dependable.”

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Brave New World is Mackie’s first outing as Captain America in a proper Captain America film. The previous incarnation of the patriotic powerhouse was played by Chris Evans, whose Steve Rogers passed the mantle to Mackie’s Sam Wilson in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Mackie also appeared as Cap in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier  in 2021.

Mackie told EW at Comic-Con 2024 that “Brave New World is a great title for this film,” calling it “a new beginning, and it’s a foundation on which Marvel will build the universe on now. Not only this character but all the characters that surround him are new building blocks for us to utilize to move on through the universe and into to the future.”

Brave New World is the 35th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and fourth Captain America film overall. It will costar Harrison Ford, who takes over for the late William Hurt as President Thaddeus Ross, Danny Ramirez, Tim Blake Nelson, and Giancarlo Esposito. A trailer released last November shows Ford transforming into a beat-red Hulk.

“If you remember,” producer Nate Moore told Collider in 2022, Ross “actually threw [Captain America] in prison at the end of Civil War because he violated the Sokovia Accords. There’s going to be some natural sparks there, which I think are going to be really fun.”