5 Movies and TV Shows to Watch Before Captain America: Brave New World

Captain America Brave New World is closing in on its release and while most of us are thoroughly up to date with everything Marvel Studios has thrown at us, there might be some who are a bit rusty on the things one should know before walking into the theaters to watch this upcoming flick. So, to make sure nobody misses out on anything that we will see in the movie, let me tell you about the five movies and TV shows you should watch before Captain America: Brave New World!

1. The Incredible Hulk

• Release Date- June 13, 2008
• Cast- Edward Norton, Tim Roth, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, Paul Soles, Peter Mensah
• Director- Louis Leterrier
• IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 6.6/ 68%

The Incredible Hulk is one of the first movies in the MCU and even though the actor playing The Hulk was changed from Edward Norton to Mark Ruffalo, this one movie remains a timeless classic. Watching the 2008 Incredible Hulk movie is essential before Captain America Brave New World since several characters from this movie are returning in the upcoming Marvel flick.

We will see the return of Tim Blake Nelson in Captain America Brave New World but not as Doctor Samuel Sterns but as his evil counterpart, The Leader, who has been a constant villain of The Hulk in comic books. Moreover, The Leader was also the one responsible for the creation of the Red Hulk. Watching The Incredible Hulk is also essential to learn about the depth of Betty Ross’s character who will be appearing in the upcoming movie as well.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

• Release Date- April 4, 2014
• Cast- Sebastian Stan, Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Emily VanCamp, Frank Grillo, Robert Redford, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones
• Director-  Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
• IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 7.7/ 90%

Captain America The Winter Soldier is also an essential watch before Captain America Brave New World since this was the movie that introduced The Flacon or Sam Wilson played by Anthony Mackie. This is the movie that sets the dynamic of trust and friendship between Captain America and Sam. This is also the movie where Captain America starts seeing Sam as someone worthy of the shield which he continues to prove through the other Avengers projects.

Another essential element of Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the return of Bucky Barnes who even though begins as a villain, later on, becomes a close ally of Cap and Sam. Even after Captain America retires, Bucky continues to be an ally to Sam as seen in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

3. Eternals

• Release Date- November 5, 2021
• Cast- Kit Harington, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Barry Keoghan, Lia McHugh, Kumail Nanjiani, Harry Styles, Bill Skarsgård, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Ma Dong-Seok
• Director-  Chloé Zhao
• IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 6.3/ 47%

Even though Eternals did not do well at the Box Office, this movie introduces us to something that seems to be playing an important part in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World. In the trailer of Captain America Brave New World, we see a combat sequence go down near the body of the celestial being seen first in The Eternals.

It looks like the US government is mining that body for adamantium, the only metal that can rival Vibranium and to know the complete story behind that dead celestial, watching Eternals becomes essential.

4. Avengers: Endgame

• Release Date- 26 April 2019
• Cast- Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Brie Larson, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Chadwick Aaron Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Josh Brolin, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Mackie, Tessa Thompson, Rene Russo, Evangeline Lilly, Benedict Wong, John Slattery, Tilda Swinton, Hayley Atwell, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Winston Duke, Sean Gunn, Pom Klementieff, Danai Gurira, Dave Bautista, Letitia Wright, Michelle Pfeiffer
• Director- Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
• IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8.4/ 94%

Avengers Endgame is, by far, the most successful project Marvel has ever pulled off. This movie is a landmark for Marvel fans since it is the one that features the death of Tony Stark/Iron Man and also the retirement of Captain America.

We see that by the end of Avengers Endgame, Steve Rogers goes back in time to return the Infinity Stones but never returns. He decides to stay back with Peggy and is seen as an old man who has lived his life to the fullest. The most important factor of this movie is Captain America handing over his shield to Sam, crowning him the new Captain America.

5. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier

• Release Date- 19 March 2021
• Cast- Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Danny Ramirez, Daniel Brühl, Emily VanCamp, Georges St-Pierre, Carl Lumbly, Don Cheadle, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Director-  Kari Skogland
• IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 7.1/ 85%

If there’s one thing that’s absolutely necessary to watch before Captain America Brave New World, it’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. This series follows the aftermath of Captain America giving his shield to Sam. Since the role and responsibility of carrying that shield is enormous, Sam gives it up and the US Government appoints John Walker as the new Captain America.

However, things do not go as planned and under the pressure of carrying the name, he crumbles and does something that takes away his title. Walker is later appointed by the CIA as The US Agent. However, the important thing in this show is the journey Sam goes through to finally embrace the identity of Captain America which will be carried forward in Captain America Brave New World.