The new year brings forth plenty of highly-anticipated movies and Captain America: Brave New World is among the most anticipated of them all. It's the fourth Captain America movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's subfranchise, but it's the first to star Anthony Mackie as the titular character. A stalwart of the film series for over a decade, Mackie's Sam Wilson inherited the Captain America mantle from the original Star-Spangled Man Steve Rogers, who handed him the shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame. And now, it's up to him to carry on the fight.
The film looks to restore the MCU to its more grounded nature, which we haven't seen too much of in the Multiverse Saga. A political thriller that sees Sam dragged into a conspiracy involving The Incredible Hulk villain The Leader and President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, it is said to have a tone similar to that of 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The events will also lead to Ross transforming into the Red Hulk.
There will be a lot of eyes on the first Captain America movie in nine years, with hopes that it could make all kinds of history. We do know, however, that it will be making history in a particular department, and fans are divided about that one.
Captain America: Brave New World runtime is history-making
The official runtime for Captain America: Brave New World has been revealed. The film has a length of 1 hour and 58 minutes, making it the shortest Captain America movie ever. Needless to say, that has created quite the discussion among fans, with a varied range of opinions on it.
The first film in the franchise, 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, has a runtime of 2 hours and 4 minutes, while its 2014 sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier has a slightly longer runtime of 2 hours and 16 minutes. The third film in the franchise, 2016's Captain America: Civil War, runs longest with a length of 2 hours and 28 minutes. Taking that into account, the fourth film isn't that much shorter than the first two outings, but the conversation surrounding its ever-changing runtime has led to some uncertainty.
While less can indeed be more (and some of the MCU's longer films could have been shortened somewhat), the biggest concern with this one's shorter runtime is that it might lack the depth needed for such a compelling thriller, and that might result in a poorer response. Yes, that's a lot of "what ifs and maybes" for a movie that hasn't been released yet, but we have seen in this in the past (with both the MCU and films in general). And this is often the case when a film undergoes reshoots - something that this one did last summer.
Captain America: Brave New World underwent extensive reshoots (which actually removed a major character from the film altogether) after reportedly receiving a poor response from test audiences. That's certainly not a sign that the finished product will receive a negative response, but these reshoots can often result in a sharper, shorter project that omits some of the film's more nuanced material in the hopes that it will play better with mainstream audiences. But it also often results in a cut-and-paste film that never really gets the chance to resonate with audiences.
It's also particularly concerning as earlier reports stated that the film's runtime would be closer to three hours, running around 2 hours and 40 minutes. A subsequent report from trusted Marvel insider Daniel Richtman claimed that it would be around 2 hours and 4 minutes, but it seems that the final runtime is shorter than even that too. So just how much of the movie was left on the cutting room floor?
Captain America: Brave New World arrives in movie theaters on February 14, 2025.