Captain America: New World Order

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said in October 2015 that Captain America: Civil War (2016) was the conclusion of the Captain America trilogy, after Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), that starred Chris Evans as Steve Rogers.[18] Civil War was Evans' last contracted standalone Captain America film,[19] but he was open to extending his contract beyond Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).[20] In January 2021, Evans was reportedly close to signing a deal to reprise the role of Steve Rogers in at least one future project. Evans' involvement was said to be similar to how fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) star Robert Downey Jr. had supporting roles as Tony Stark in other film franchises, including Civil War, after concluding the Iron Man film series.[21] Evans soon said the report was "news to [him]".[22]

By October 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a limited series for Disney+ starring Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson / Falcon and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier from the MCU films. Malcolm Spellman was hired as head writer of the series,[23][24] which was officially announced as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in April 2019.[25] Before the series premiere, Mackie said there had been no discussions regarding a second season, and he was not sure when he would next appear in an MCU film due to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on cinemas.[26] Series director Kari Skogland was also unsure if there would be a second season, saying she had told the story she wanted to with the first season, but there were more stories and characters to explore if a second was made.[27] Feige said there were ideas for what "another one" could be if a second season was made, but Marvel intended for the series to lead into future MCU films first like they did with fellow Disney+ series WandaVision (2021).[28] He added that he did not want to spoil the series by confirming a second season or discussing the plans that Marvel had for the series' characters before the series was fully released.[29] In April 2021, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier executive producer Nate Moore said the end of the series would show story elements for a potential second season, adding that the series explored "evergreen" topics that lent themselves to further exploration.[30]

After the finale episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, "One World, One People", was released on April 23, 2021, Spellman was revealed to be developing the script for a fourth Captain America film with Dalan Musson, who wrote the episode "Truth". The film was expected to follow Wilson after the events of the series,[31] with Evans' reported return as Rogers expected in a different project.[32] Borys Kit and Aaron Couch of The Hollywood Reporter noted that three people had now been Captain America in the MCU (Rogers, Wilson, and John Walker) and it would be interesting to see what the film's focus was.[31] Moore produces the film alongside Feige.[14] Mackie was unaware of any plans for a film or second season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but was "excited to see what happens",[33] and said that he had no words to describe the idea of being the title character in an MCU film, especially as a Black actor, other than it being "monumental".[34] Mackie negotiated a deal to star in the film over the next few months,[35] and signed on in August.[1]

In July 2022, Julius Onah was chosen to direct the film.[36][37] The film's title was revealed to be Captain America: New World Order at the 2022 San Diego Comic Con along with its release date of May 3, 2024, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.[38] At the D23 Expo in September 2022, Danny Ramirez and Carl Lumbly were confirmed to be reprising their respective roles of Joaquin Torres and Isaiah Bradley from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, alongside Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns / Leader from The Incredible Hulk (2008). Shira Haas was also revealed to be joining the cast as Sabra. Onah described the film as a "paranoid thriller",[6] and said that filming would begin in early 2023.[5] In mid-October, Jeff Sneider of Above the Line reported that Harrison Ford had been cast to replace William Hurt, who died in 2022, as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in the film.[39] Ford's casting was confirmed shortly after, along with his involvement in Thunderbolts (2024), which had previously been expected.[13] Ford said he took on the role because he wanted to do something different and felt it would be enjoyable.[40] Pre-production work had begun on November 7, with filming set to begin in March 2023.[41] Gersha Phillips serves as the costume designer,[42] while Ramsey Avery serves as the production designer, after previously working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).[43] In January 2023, Xosha Roquemore was cast in an undisclosed role.[16] Mackie was expected to begin work on March 1, 2023.[44]

Principal photography began on March 21, 2023, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia under the working title Rochelle Rochelle,[41][45] with Kramer Morgenthau serving as the cinematographer.[46] Onah wanted to include action in the film that was "grounded and tactile" and gave Wilson things to do that were not seen in his previous appearances.[5] Liv Tyler joined the cast by the end of March 2023, reprising her role of Betty Ross from The Incredible Hulk.[15] At that time, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was expected to reprise her MCU role as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the film.[47] The start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike in May 2023 was not expected to impact production of New World Order. However, it was reported that Marvel Studios would likely shoot what they could during principal photography, and make adjustments normally done during this time during the film's scheduled reshoots.[48] In May, set photos revealed that Seth Rollins was a part of the cast.[17] Filming is expected to conclude by June 30, 2023.[41]