When set photos for Captain America: Brave New World found their way online, Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson - in his updated suit - was spotted battling the Serpent Society.
Pro wrestling fans soon noticed that WWE Superstar Seth Rollins was among the actors spotted, and we later heard they'd all have either physical or cybernetic enhancements (an exciting supervillain role for the former World Heavyweight Champion).
The prevailing theory was that The Leader must have outfitted the group with their weapons. However, during reshoots, Marvel Studios ditched Rollins and the team. Rachel Leighton's Diamondback might have made the cut, though the villains have been dropped in preference of Giancarlo Esposito's Sidewinder...leaving the door open to him assembling the team elsewhere.
ComicBook.com (via ComicBookMovie.com) recently spoke with Captain America: Brave New World director Julius Onah and asked him to explain the decision to make such a major change to the movie.
"You know, when you’re taking characters like Serpent Society from publishing, who, as you know, are individuals dressed up as snakes and have snake adjacent powers, you’re always iterating and trying to figure out the version that totally works best in a movie like this," Onah said. "I love Seth, Seth’s incredible."
"But as we were evolving and we knew we had an additional photography period, just one that we did early on in the process that’s planned," the filmmaker continued. "We were trying to figure out, ‘Hey, who’s somebody that can bring a very specific kind of gravitas that works with this tone.’ And when Giancarlo became available, it was such a no brainer."
"I have a very particular history with him. He’s iconic for working with Spike Lee. I interned with Spike Lee when I was 19 years old."
"And of course, fans have been fan-casting him for a long time in the MCU. So it’s really about making sure that all the elements worked in the grounded tone and vision that I have for this film," Onah added. "And as we evolved and iterated, Giancarlo just made sense. And what a blessing to have in this film."
In other words, while the Serpent Society was considered a suitable threat for Captain America in an earlier version of Brave New World, that changed as the movie evolved and it appears they no longer fit the tone Onah was aiming for.
We're not sure why they couldn't be included in a story which includes Red Hulk, but Marvel Studios must have watched the footage and decided something about it wasn't working (this is far from the biggest change made to an MCU movie over the years and, without those set photos, we'd have never known). As for Rollins, here's hoping he gets another shot at an MCU role.
In Captain America: Brave New World, after meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, played by Harrison Ford in his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Sam Wilson finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
The movie stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford. The movie is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth serve as executive producers.
Captain America: Brave New World opens in U.S. theaters on February 14, 2025.