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Captain America 4: Everything we know so far

(Image credit: Disney Plus)

Anthony Mackie is flying into Captain America 4. The star has reportedly signed a deal to carry the Captain America shield and headline his first Marvel film.

His character, Sam Wilson, took up the mantle in the finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. He will take over for his friend, Steve Rogers, portrayed by Chris Evans in the first three Captain America movies and Avengers team-ups.

Captain America 4, which is the unofficial title, is being written by Falcon and Winter Soldier head writer Malcolm Spellman and another of the show's writers, Dalan Musson. No director is yet attached.

Here's everything we know so far about Captain America 4.

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Captain America 4 release date speculation

Captain America 4 doesn't have a release date, nor will it for quite some time.

The script is still being written by Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson. A director hasn't even been hired yet. So, the project is still quite a long way off from going into pre-production and filming.

And considering Marvel's extremely full slate for the next two years, it's likely that Captain America 4 won't premiere until 2023 or beyond.

It will have to follow behind 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Then, in the studio is releasing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Marvels.

In 2023, Captain America 4 could slide alongside Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Then again, Marvel also has a Fantastic Four reboot and a Blade movie to schedule, too.

Captain America 4 cast

As Deadline and other outlets reported, Anthony Mackie is set to return as Sam Wilson, who took up the title of Captain America in the finale of Falcon and Winter Soldier.

It's unknown if Sebastian Stan will be back as Bucky Barnes, a.k.a the Winter Soldier. The two characters are both friends of Steve Rogers and developed their own partnership in the Disney Plus series. Bucky has been in every Captain America movie, however, so we would be surprised if he didn't show up in this one.

Stan at least is very excited about Mackie's ascension as Captain America, as he reacted positively to the casting news on Instagram:

Sebastian Stan Instagram — (Image credit: Instagram)

There are also question marks about Emily VanCamp's Sharon Carter, Wyatt Russell's John Walker, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. The latter made a cameo in the post-credits scene of Black Widow and looks to figure into future movies.

Captain America 4 plot and possible comics storylines

Very few details are known about the plot of Captain America 4, since the script is still in progress.

However, we can speculate about a few things. Sam is new to being Captain America, so the movie may revolve around his transition in the role.

The Falcon and Winter Soldier left a few dangling plot threads that could be addressed in Captain America 4. For one, the series hinted that Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) will take up Sam's old mantle as Falcon. John Walker, who served briefly as Captain America, is still around and his U.S. Agent could be the primary antagonist. And then there's Sharon Carter, who was revealed as the Power Broker. She received a pardon in the finale but is also planning to use her reinstated status for nefarious purposes.

As far as possible storylines from the comics, many fans are hoping to see an adaptation of the original "Secret Empire" from the 1970s (not the new one!). In it, Steve discovers a far-reaching government conspiracy. He's framed by the cabal for murder, which leads the public to shun him. Considering how FAWS brought institutionalized racism into its story, the "Secret Empire" plot could be adapted to do the same to fit Sam. And Sharon, Valentina and John Walker could all easily be involved.

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Kelly covers streaming media for Tom's Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she's not watching TV and movies for work, she's watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.