Anthony Mackie has strong feelings about the Captain America franchise, in which he now stars in under the titular role.
During a recent press event in Rome, Italy, held on Monday (Jan. 27), the actor expressed, “For me, ‘Captain America’ represents a lot of things and I don’t think the term ‘America’ should be one of those representations.”
Mackie explained, “It’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor, dignity, and integrity. Someone who is trustworthy and dependable.”
The backlash came swiftly as commenters flooded Twitter/X with their takes.
“He just sealed the fate of this franchise,” one person tweeted. Another replied, “Strange take.”
“Well that’s sure to sit well with your American audience,” someone else wrote as another questioned, “What? Captain America shouldn’t represent America??”
Mackie, who took over the role from Chris Evans and made history as the first Black actor to portray Captain America, gushed over the moment. “This is kinda like an aspect of a dream coming true,” he told the crowd.
“All of us as actors, I believe, wanna get back to that day when someone told us ‘no,’” he shared. The New Orleans native shared an analogy of a five-year-old who imagines being the knight in shining armor and having to slay a dragon to save the princess in a tower.