Captain America 4 is currently shrouded in mystery, as little information is known, other than the fact that it will follow the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (which one can stream with a Disney+ subscription). The miniseries’ writing team is penning the script, with Anthony Mackie attached to star. As the public awaits updates, Mackie has been busy preparing for the sequel amid his other projects. And recently, the Sam Wilson actor humorously revealed he’s using a classic Tupac song to prep for the MCU film.
During the Grammys, Variety inquired about whether The Woman in the Window actor uses music to prep for his roles. He mentioned that he's used John Legend’s “Ordinary People” to prepare for one role before the conversation turned to his first theatrical outing Marvel’s First Avenger. While the actor didn't give the exact name of the Tupac track he's using for it, he did give a funny hint:
I can't say it on camera, but it’s a Tupac song. And it starts off, ‘First off, dot dot dot dot dot dot … ‘
There are so many Tupac hits but, based on the first words, it appears Anthony Mackie is getting into superhero mode by listening to the late rapper’s iconic diss song “Hit ‘Em Up.” And what a track to use as motivation. Of course, the anger and fervor in Shakur’s vocals could get anyone hyped to take on their rivals or a massive challenge.
The legendary 1996 diss song was aimed at Tupac Shakur's then-friend-turned-rival The Notorious B.I.G. at the height of the 1990s East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. The track was reportedly a response to the New York rapper’s 1994 B-side “Who Shot Ya?”, which Shakur allegedly felt was taunting his 1994 shooting incident at a New York recording studio. He allegedly suspected the Bad Boy rapper and his label head Puff Daddy (now Diddy) of orchestrating the ambush. He and his group The Outlawz called out B.I.G.’s image and personal life as well as other East Coast rappers. This is “ready-to-go-for-the-jugular”-type music, so the Marvel actor must be in fight mode when it comes to the next installment.
The song might be appropriate, as Captain America 4 producer Nate Moore hinted that the new Cap will be an underdog as he finds out succeeding Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers won’t be easy. Hopefully, Sam Wilson’s partner-in-crime, Bucky Barnes, will return for the fourth installment despite Sebastian Stan playfully suggesting his co-star might not want him to come back. Meanwhile, Mackie is following Marvel protocol by keeping a lid on everything, yet he couldn’t help but gloat about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever by saying the sequel will be “amazing and spectacular.”
Only time will tell how things pan out for the new movie. Before that film arrives though, moviegoers have Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and other upcoming Marvel movies to occupy their time. There's also a litany of upcoming movie releases arriving in 2022 for moviegoers to enjoy.
