Marvel producer on Sam Wilson's trials in Captain America 4: 'We're gonna put him through the wringer'

Shortly after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier wrapped up its six-episode run on Disney+, news broke that the show's head writer and executive producer, Malcolm Spellman, had been tapped to write a fourth Captain America film centered around Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie, whose MCU return was confirmed back in August).

Little is known about the project, which Spellman is penning alongside Dalan Musson, a fellow member of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier writing team. Thanks to some recent comments made by Marvel producer Nate Moore, however, fans can expect that Sam's new role as the Star-Spangled Man won't fit as snugly as it did for Steve Rogers (Chris Evans).

"He's not Steve Rogers and I think that's a good thing because, to me, this new Cap is Rocky," Moore explained on ComicBook.com's Phase Zero podcast. "He's gonna be the underdog in any situation. He's not a super-soldier, he's not a 100-years-old [and] he doesn't have the Avengers. What happens with this guy who announces publicly — kind of without support — 'I'm the new Captain America.' What happens next, I think, is fascinating because he's a guy. He's the guy with wings and shield, but he is a guy, so we're gonna put him through the wringer and make him earn it and see what happens when he is outweighed, outclassed, out-everything-ed. What makes somebody Captain America? Because I'm gonna argue it's not being a super-soldier and I think we're gonna prove that with Mackie and Sam Wilson."

Spellman said something similar in the making-of documentary for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (now streaming on Disney+), citing the racial barriers standing between a Black man and the title of Captain America. In particular, Spellman pointed to the character of Isaiah Bradley (played in the series by Doctor Sleep's Carl Lumbly), America's first super-soldier of color who was unceremoniously tossed aside and forgotten by his own government.

"Isaiah is challenging Sam just on whether or not a Black man should be Captain America," Spellman said. "He has that line where [he says] ‘They will never let a Black man be Captain America. And even if they would, no self-respecting Black man would ever want to be.’ We didn’t want Isaiah to be wrong about that. That’s gonna be part of [Sam’s] ongoing struggle. He says, ‘I know every time I pick the shield up, a portion of the world is gonna hate me for it.’ Sam’s gotta live with that as he goes off and tries to make this work."

Disney has yet to announce a theatrical release date for the movie.