Anthony Mackie Gets Honest About the Limitations of Marvel Movies

Anthony Mackie made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Falcon in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He reprised the role in subsequent movies like Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Infinity War, and even starred in his own Disney+ series. But as far as getting to invent a creative story, Mackie says Marvel isn’t the best place to improvise on plot. 

Mackie contrasted his experience working on Marvel productions with his Peacock series Twisted Metal in a recent interview with Radio Times.  

“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,” he explained. “There’s only so much creativity you can bring to the table, because Stan Lee gave us so much content.”

“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,” he continued. “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.”

His character’s growth into Captain America was chronicled in the 2021 Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It ended up being a miniseries, which was a disappointment to Mackie. “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,” he said. 

Still, Mackie hasn’t hung up his super suit just yet. He’s set to star in Captain America: Brave New World, which hits theaters Valentine’s Day 2025.