#New Captain America Reveal Got an Unexpected Reaction from Anthony Mackie’s Kids

The MCU has taken some pretty big swings with their first foray into streaming programs. WandaVision set the heroic Wanda Maximoff up as a villain who kept an entire town of citizens hostage for months. And now The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has confirmed that Sam Wilson aka Falcon is now officially the new Captain America. Anthony Mackie, who plays Falcon, revealed to Entertainment Tonight that his younger children had a hard time believing the man sitting on the couch with them was actually Captain America.

“My little ones, they looked at it, and we’re all sitting in the living room. Like I make my gourmet popcorn, and we’re eating the popcorn. They’re looking at the screen, and they’re looking at me, once the popcorn is gone. They’re like, ‘Dad, that guy looks just like you!’ I said that I know. The five-year-old goes, ‘He sounds like you too!’ So, the older two are like, I can’t believe these dudes aren’t getting it. But, they can’t put together that I’m on TV and on the couch at the same time. The little one goes, “You know Dad, you could be Captain America.’ I was like thanks, man I appreciate it.”

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While Avengers: Endgame ended with Steve Rogers passing his shield on to Sam, the latter had a hard time accepting the legacy of Captain America and turned the shield over to the government in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It was only when Sam saw that the government had announced a new Captain America, who was not living up to the ideal set by Steve Rogers, that he finally took on the mantle of Cap himself.

In the past, Anthony Mackie has spoken about his apprehension over headlining his own series, and the controversy that might ensue about Sam taking over as Captain America from Steve Rogers. But according to the actor, the love and appreciation that he received from his family and fans online made it easy to ignore the few vocal critics who have a problem with the fact that the legacy of Captain America is now in Sam Wilson’s hands.

“It’s funny because, I’ve watched all the episodes with my sons and their reactions were so funny. And I became a spectator, I became an audience member and was able to let go of it and watch it with them. So, it was a lot of fun. I had never had the experience of just sitting back and enjoying it as a parent, instead of an actor in the show. The overwhelming appreciation and love is something I expected because I’m a cup half full kind of guy. Just because there’s one annoying person on the Internet, that doesn’t cancel out the millions of good people on the Internet. I just look at it that way.”

Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly, and Daniel Brühl. The series is now streaming on Disney+.

Topics: Falcon and Winter Soldier, Captain America