Anthony Mackie details what he wants a Black Captain America to mean to fans

With the next phase of the MCU slowly unfolding, Anthony Mackie spoke in depth about what he wants the next chapter of Captain America to represent.

As readers should remember if you saw Avengers: Endgame last year (if not, have you been living under a rock this whole time?) the movie ended with an aged Steve Rogers deciding to retire deep into the night before literally passing his Captain America shield over to Sam Wilson.

Now, the new man behind the mantle – Anthony Mackie – is preparing to star alongside Bucky Barnes (played by Sebastian Stan) in a limited series for Disney+ called The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which is presumably where we’ll see Mackie debut in the Captain America suit.

The show is not expected to hit the streaming service for its six-episode run until later this summer but, before that, Mackie took the opportunity to sit down with Trey Mangum (via ComicBookMovie.com) to discuss taking over as the new Cap. Specifically, what it means to him to become the first-ever Black man to become Captain America and the expectations that come with it:

"“With the idea of being a black man and becoming Captain America, it’s been a daunting task because I think, at this day and age in America, I think we are open-minded to the idea of having my face represent us, as a country, because we’re truly a melting pot. So there is no distinctive look or feel or design of an American. [We’re] all Americans.”"

Perhaps the most telling part of the interview came when Mackie declared, “I want my Captain America to represent everybody, not just a specific group of people.”

Films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe have always sought to push a narrative of diversity that includes people of different races, genders and nationalities at the forefront of the picture. In fact, Kevin Feige almost left Marvel when he believed the studio did not share a similar vision for diversity.

Keeping that in mind, it makes sense as to why Mackie would say he wants his Captain America to touch different audiences of different skin tones with his portrayal. Only time will tell if his Captain America makes as strong of a connection with crowds as Chris Evans did as Steve Rogers.