Anthony Mackie has been a stalwart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since debuting as Sam Wilson/Falcon in 2014’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” The actor’s MCU tenure has included “Avengers” motion pictures and the Disney+ collection “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” and now Mackie is taking up the mantle of Captain America within the upcoming movie tentpole “Captain America: Brave New World.”

While selling his newest collection “Twisted Metal” within the United Kingdom, Mackie in contrast the venture to his expertise making Marvel motion pictures and told Radio Times there was much more storytelling freedom available outdoors of the MCU.

“I would say the Marvel thing is completely different, just because it’s such a space of controlled entertainment. Like, there’s only so much you can do,” Mackie noticed. “There’s only so much creativity you can bring to the table, because Stan Lee gave us so much content. Whereas with this [‘Twisted Metal’], it was like, ‘There’s a guy and a girl… go!’ So we were really able to build the world around it.”

Mackie agreed {that a} venture like “Twisted Metal” has the liberty to introduce and kill off character at will, which isn’t one thing the Marvel Cinematic Universe can entertain so simply.

“Exactly. And that’s the hard thing about the Marvel universe. It’s like, you can’t really go outside of the lines of those comic books,” the actor stated. “You know, when we introduced the Falcon, and the growth of the Falcon to Captain America, all of that had to coincide with what Stan had already gave us. So it’s an interesting juggle to be a part of that world. And this was more like, ‘Let’s just have fun and figure it out as we go.’”

“Captain America: Brave New World” is directed by Julius Onah (“The Cloverfield Paradox,” “Luce”) and co-written by Malcolm Spellman, who was the creator of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” The forged consists of Harrison Ford in his MCU debut as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, taking on for the late William Hurt. Ross is now the President of the United States in “Brave New World.” Liv Tyler and Tim Blake Nelson additionally star, reprising their roles of Betty Ross and Samuel Sterns from “The Incredible Hulk.” The supporting forged additionally consists of Shira Haas and and “Top Gun: Maverick” actor Danny Ramirez.

Elsewhere in talking with Radio Times, Mackie lamented over “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” not getting a second season. The present ended up being a restricted collection that tracked Sam Wilson’s transformation from Falcon to Captain America, and it arrange the character to now lead “Captain America: Brave New World.”

“‘The Falcon and [the] Winter Soldier,’ I really enjoyed doing that show. I was actually excited to do a second season, just so me and Sebastian [Stan] can get paid to hang out,” Mackie stated. “Because it’s like me, him and Daniel Brühl. It’s kind of like the perfect storm of happiness.”

“When they decided to go back to the movies [with me], it is what it is, but I don’t have my friends anymore, so it kind of dampens it a little bit,” he added.

“Captain America: Brave New World” is ready to open in theaters February 14, 2025 from Disney.