Captain America: Brave New World offers up surprise cameo – confirming new character detail
A familiar face pops up towards the end of the latest MCU instalment.
**WARNING: Contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World**
Cameo appearances, Easter eggs and well-kept secrets have always been a big part of the MCU – and so it's no surprise to see that pattern continue in the franchise's latest release, Captain America: Brave New World.
The film is the first big-screen outing for Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson since he graduated from the role of Falcon to become the new fully-fledged Captain America, and finds him at loggerheads with new US president Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross owing to a plot that includes the indestructible metal Adamantium, a mind-control influenced assassination attempt and a dramatic international fallout.
Much has been made ahead of the film's release about how it links back to some previous entries in the long-running interconnected universe – with the likes of 2008's The Incredible Hulk and 2021's Eternals key touchstones – but there is also a major cameo from someone who has long had a key role in the Captain America films in particular.
Scroll down to find out who...
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In what will no doubt come as good news for MCU fans, the familiar character who makes an unexpected – and admittedly rather brief – appearance in the film is Bucky Barnes AKA The Winter Soldier, played as ever by Sebastian Stan.
Bucky makes his appearance towards the end of the film, popping in on his old pal Sam to comfort him while he is visiting his critically injured friend Joaquin Torres – AKA the new Falcon – in hospital.
In the scene, it is confirmed that Bucky is now a congressman, and after he gives an inspirational pep talk to Sam they share a joke about how it was actually written by his speechwriter.
That's about as far as the conversation goes, but the exchange does appear to give Sam a lift.
Of course, Stan will soon be reprising his role in a more meaningful capacity in the next MCU entry Thunderbolts*, which will presumably go into rather more detail about what he's been up to since the events of The Falcon and the Winter Solider and how his life has changed since running for political office.
Stan is returning to Marvel after what has been the most successful year of his career so far – at least as far as awards and acclaim go.
He is nominated for Best Actor at the upcoming Oscars for his turn as Donald Trump in The Apprentice and has already won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy for his role in A Different Man.
Captain America: Brave New World is now showing in UK cinemas.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
