Actor Anthony Mackie Says Audiences Should Stop With Politics And 'Chill The F*** Out'
Anthony Mackie is taking over from Chris Evans as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and boy is it off to a rocky start.
Mackie recently made headlines for saying in a recent discussion that Captain America, literally Captain America, does not necessarily have much to do with America.
Whether it was a poor choice of words, or something more specifically critical of his home country, Mackie's comments were, as expected, not received well by the public. And his employer, Disney, must have been furious considering how controversial comments made by "Snow White" star Rachel Zegler have affected that upcoming release.
Mackie apologized, posting in an Instagram story that he is a "proud American."
"Let me be clear about this, I’m a proud American and taking on the shield of a hero like [Captain America] is the honor of a lifetime," Mackie said in the post. "I have the utmost respect for those who serve and have served our country. [Captain America] has universal characteristics that people all over the world can relate to."
Now in a new cover story with Esquire, Mackie is telling everyone that politics should take a back seat with his upcoming film.
Anthony Mackie at the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. Photo: Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY
Anthony Mackie Backtracking On Politics
Mackie told Esquire that there's high expectations placed on him as the Captain America character.
"The expectations of what comes along with this role is something that nobody talks about," Mackie said. "Nobody really acknowledges the mental jousting that takes place. When I walk out of this hotel, I don’t walk out of this hotel as Anthony Mackie. I walk out of this hotel as Captain America."
While "Brave New World" has been plagued with reshoots, rewrites, and delays, he did say it's the "best movie it can be."
"It stays in the lines of Marvel. It stays in the lines of Captain America, and it’s fun and it’s big."
Still, because the main villain is Harrison Ford's character, a president who turns into the Red Hulk, it's been used by the political left as a supposed reference to President Donald Trump. Mackie said he's not a fan of those comparisons, saying audiences should "chill the f*** out" about politics.
"I hope, as a country, we’re tired of all the political jousting," Mackie said about the Trump/Red Hulk discussion. "Let’s just go to the movies and chill the f*** out. We could’ve made this mother****** yellow and it would’ve been a problem."
Pretty clearly, Mackie has no interest in saying anything that could further jeopardize the movie's success. It might already be too late given what he said about Captain America not necessarily representing America, but he's right about the "political jousting" being exhausting.
The problem for him, for Disney, for Marvel, and the entertainment industry at large is that they're the ones who made everything political. Starting in 2016 and accelerating in and after 2020, they incorporated left-wing, progressive messages into every possible story, including the "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" show Mackie starred in. Shockingly, those audiences tuned out, and the industry's box office hasn't recovered.
It's a new cultural day in America however, and if the movie business has any chance of reaching its previous financial highs, it'll be due to stopping divisive political messages from encroaching into films where they don't belong. Mackie finally seems to be realizing that.