Captain America: Brave New World, the fourth film in the Captain America series, is set to be released on February 14, 2025. AMC Theatres has announced that the film will run for 1 hour and 58 minutes (118 minutes), making it the shortest film in the Captain America franchise.
For comparison, the previous films were longer: Captain America: The First Avenger lasted 124 minutes, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was 136 minutes, and Captain America: Civil War had a runtime of 147 minutes. However, it’s not the shortest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as The Marvels has that title with a runtime of 105 minutes.
The shorter runtime may be the result of significant changes made during post-production, including reshoots. Actor Seth Rollins, who was originally cast as a villain, revealed that his scenes were cut due to script changes and reshoots. This indicates that the original storyline was altered quite a bit.
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In this film, Anthony Mackie stars as Sam Wilson, also known as Captain America, marking his first solo role as the character in a movie. Harrison Ford joins the MCU as President Thaddeus Ross, a part previously played by William Hurt. The story follows Sam Wilson getting involved in an international incident after meeting President Ross, and he must uncover a global conspiracy. The supporting cast includes Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, and Tim Blake Nelson. Julius Onah directs, while Kevin Feige and Nate Moore are the producers.
The shorter length of the film is likely for a few reasons. It is possible that Sam Wilson’s character development in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series might explain the brief runtime since his background has already been established. Others are worried that having a shorter movie could make the story less complex, especially with President Ross being introduced as the Red Hulk.
Despite these worries, the creators seem confident that a runtime under two hours is enough to tell Sam Wilson’s first solo Captain America story. The plot mainly focuses on the conflict between Sam and President Ross, who wants to put Captain America under government control, similar to the conflict seen in Captain America: Civil War.
In comparison with other MCU films, Captain America: Brave New World is tied with Ant-Man and the Wasp as the sixth shortest movie in the franchise. Several other MCU films also have runtimes under two hours, including The Incredible Hulk, Thor: The Dark World, Thor, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, and Thor: Love and Thunder. This film’s shorter runtime is a notable change from the longer runtimes typical of superhero films, especially in the Captain America series.
Source: AMC Theatres
