One of the most talked about additions coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the next Captain America film is Giancarlo Esposito, whose casting was announced following completion of scheduled reshoots. What was not as clear, though, is who the beloved actor would be portraying as part of Anthony Mackie's first theatrical outing as Captain America.
Early fan speculation and theories suggested he could end up playing a character related to the X-Men, or possibly even be the MCU's version of Charles Xavier, but these were quickly stamped out once images of Esposito on set for Captain America: Brave New World emerged online. The conversations quickly shifted to a different swath of Marvel Comics characters that have histories with spy craft, black ops, SHIELD, government wetwork, and more.
Despite the fan speculation, Esposito and Marvel Studios have remained quiet as to who the actor will ultimately be portraying in the MCU. The first trailer for Brave New World has, however, seemingly narrowed down the fan theories to two possibilities.
Captain America's Clues
Esposito is shown only briefly in the trailer for Brave New World, though the moments he is seen provides some context to the type of character he will be playing in the film.
First is just how heavily-armed he appears to be.
The first shot of Esposito in the trailer is him with a AK-style rifle seemingly trained on someone and seemingly ready for a gunfight. Some of his tactical gear can also be seen under his jacket, including his combat vest, showing he is prepared should whatever situation he is in get out of control.
Later shots in the trailer show him ducking behind a vehicle as another explodes in the background and emptying bullet casings from his revolver's cylinder, the latter being the only time he is seen without sunglasses on.
These three shots, along with the various behind the scenes images that emerged from the reshoots, add credence to the idea that Esposito's character is very much a black ops-style character befitting the tone teased in Brave New World's trailer.
GW Bridge
The first and most-heavily speculated character Esposito could be playing in Brave New World is George Washington “G.W.” Bridge.
First introduced in X-Force #1 in 1991, little was known at the time about Bridge other than he was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He was introduced as a mercenary recruited by the time-traveling mutant Cable to the mercenary team dubbed the Wild Pack, later renamed Six Pack, featuring the likes of Domino and Deadpool in its ranks. However, the team struck out on its own after a mission against Cable's archenemy Stryfe ended in disaster that left several members of the team horribly injured.
After his time with the mercenary team, Bridge would end up joining SHIELD and used the resources at his disposal to get back at Cable for the Six Pack's disastrous last mission. The two would later make peace and would become a contact for the X-Men and X-Force within SHIELD and regularly inform the teams of any mutant-related problems SHIELD was facing.
Bridge would be in and out of SHIELD over the following years, in some cases striking out on his own and even on one occasion reforming the Six Pack.
In more recent comics, he turned back up as a member of the mysterious organization J.A.N.U.S. as part of its ruling board.
When it comes to the possibility of Esposito portraying the character in the MCU, his garb and actions in Brave New World's first trailer certainly hint at a similar background as GW Bridge. The trailer hinted at the film's tone would steer closer to the spy-thriller atmosphere of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, making Bridge an ideal addition for such a film.
Feige has also teased that the MCU would be heading toward a “Mutant era” following the release of Deadpool and Wolverine and that audiences can expect to see more mutants in future MCU releases. Bridge's addition to the MCU would continue laying the X-Men's foundation in the MCU for future appearances, especially with hints from Esposito, himself, that his character will be sticking around for quite some time.
Scorpio
While GW Bridge has emerged as a favorite theory among fans online, there are plenty who think that Esposito could be another character that hits close to home for none other than Nick Fury. The character has gone by the moniker of Scorpio when conducting his spy and terrorist operations, but to the famed SHIELD director, he is better known as Jake Fury.
Scorpio was first introduced to Marvel Comics in 1967 as a mysterious spy and terrorist who began targeting a SHIELD base located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Scorpio was defeated, but would reemerge some time later targeting the SHIELD base in New York City and was able infiltrate by disguising himself as Nick Fury. The real Nick Fury, however, discovered the scheme and learned shortly after that Scorpio was in fact his brother Jake.
During this time, Jake would join a group known as the Zodiac Cartel and continued to torture his brother in whatever ways he could. These included plots to wipe out all life in Manhattan, destroying the Avengers, and various other schemes that pit the brothers against each other and typically saw other groups get involved like the Avengers and the Defenders.
Scorpio's story took another twist, though, as it would later be revealed that the Jake Fury under Scorpio's mask was not, in fact, the original Jake Fury. He was instead a predecessor to what became known as a Life Model Decoy, or LMD, that was created after Nick and Jake discovered technology that could be used to create them but Jake accidentally activated and was exposed to it. This resulted in the creation of who would become the villainous, unstable version of Jake that donned the Scorpio moniker.
The real Jake was revealed to be still alive and working deep cover in Hydra, helping his brother and SHIELD fight hidden threats all over the globe.
While his plans against Nick Fury would fail, Scropio would continue to be a thorn in the side of the Avengers and West Coast Avengers for some time. He ultimately got his hands on the Zodiac Key responsible for his creation and use it to transport himself and other LMDs created by the key to its home dimension, where the LMDs quickly shut down as they could not function in that dimension.
Captain America's World
Whoever Esposito ends up portraying in the MCU, it will likely be some time before fans know for sure what his part is to play inside the grander universe. The next Captain America, though, does appear to be setting up big chess pieces on the MCU's proverbial board as it continues the march toward the next Avengers films.
Sam Wilson taking up the mantle of Captain America has already been a sizeable change many inside the MCU are still dealing with and it appears to be a key part of Brave New World's central conflict.
One of the bigger parts of the picture, though, is the introduction of the Red Hulk into the universe. It comes with the added wrinkle of ‘Thunderbolt' Ross already being U.S. President by the time that secret gets out, putting him in a unique and tenuous position as a super-powered world leader.
Then there is the return of Samuel Sterns to the MCU, once again portrayed by Tim Blake Nelson who's only other appearance as the character was in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. With Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige outright referring to Sterns as The Leader, it suggests that the gamma-infused genius will try to maneuver the global chess pieces into place for a potential power grab on his part.
Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled to release in theaters on February 14, 2024.
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