No sooner had the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier drawn to a close than plans for a Captain America 4 movie started to hit the trades. It was assumed that the movie would be structured around Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, who’d just spent six television episodes undergoing the transformation into the new Captain America. With that said, one might assume that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier director Kari Skogland would be a logical selection to helm this future feature. So when Skogland came on CinemaBlend’s official ReelBlend podcast, we asked her, and her answer is above.
Before we jump to the conclusion that Anthony Mackie automatically is the star of Captain America 4, The Hollywood Reporter did note in its story that it was unclear if this project was Mackie-centric or a rumored story that might bring Chris Evans back to the MCU, We remain skeptical on that story ever properly developing, but will keep an open mind and instead focus on Mackie in that brand new suit, which looks like this:
The MCU has a track record of television directors hopping over the helm Marvel Studios movies. Alan Taylor left Game of Thrones to try his luck on Thor: The Dark World. He wasn’t nearly as successful as Joe and Anthony Russo, who started their run on the excellent Captain America: The Winter Soldier and helmed the incredible Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
In a way the hiring would make sense. As Kari Skogland points out to us, she has been working with this cast and crew for years now (thanks to pandemic-related delays), and she literally carried Sam Wilson from Falcon status to that of the Star-Spangled Avenger. She should at least be given the opportunity to continue Sam’s story in a movie form, and explore what they could accomplish with only a two-hour window.
As for the gig, Kari Skogland told ReelBlend:
I think if Marvel called me to do anything, if they called me to film the phone book, I would do it. … The Marvel characters are all very, very rich. I’ve become friends with Anthony and Sebastian, and I really enjoyed working with them. And Emily and Daniel Bruhl. I mean, I’ve worked with them for a couple of years, so of course, I have a special place in my heart. But as I said, if Kevin (Feige) picked up the phone, I would answer it.
There you go. The ball is firmly in the court of Marvel Studios, as is usually the case. Kari Skogladn does not many feature-film credits on her resume, but her TV work is illustrious, spanning shows from Boardwalk Empire and Vikings to Fear the Walking Dead and The Handmaid’s Tale. She’s a gifted storyteller and Marvel would be very lucky to get her to direct this mysterious Captain America 4, which her Falcon and the Winter Soldier collaborator Malcolm Spellman reportedly is shepherding.
Will Marvel keep the band together? Could Kari Skogland tackle an MCU show with a different character? We shall see.
