Captain America: Brave New World Ending Explained

Contains spoilers for "Captain America: Brave New World"

Marvel's "Captain America" films naturally lend themselves to commenting on the state of the nation. "Winter Soldier" is about government surveillance, while "Civil War" and the Sokovia Accords reflect who's allowed to wield influence across the globe. The latest Cap movie, "Brave New World," is about how the true bad guy is the person who was obviously the bad guy all along.

In this case, the one pulling the strings is the obvious culprit, namely, Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), who was last seen being exposed to Bruce Banner's blood in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk," thereby giving him superhuman intelligence. "Brave New World" ends with POTUS finally losing control of his temper, turning into Red Hulk, and getting into the all-out brawl with Captain America, aka Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), that the trailers promised.

But how does the ending to "Captain America: Brave New World" affect the larger state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? And what, if anything, is the movie trying to say? Let's use our own superhuman intelligence to put all the pieces of the film's conspiracy puzzle together and see what type of picture forms.

At the start of the film, Sam Wilson and the new Falcon, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), retrieve stolen adamantium from Serpent (the film's version of Marvel Comics' Serpent Society), led by Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), in Mexico. This pleases the newly elected President Ross, who is holding a treaty summit for the international rights to acquire adamantium from Celestial Island, the name given to the corpse of Tiamut shown emerging from the Earth in "Eternals."

Ross invites Sam, Joaquin, and formerly incarcerated super soldier Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) to the ceremony, taking Sam aside beforehand to pitch him to lead a new Avengers team with governmental oversight, an idea Sam isn't a fan of. When Isaiah and other assassins shoot at Ross, Sam knows Isaiah wouldn't go rogue like this of his own will. He begins investigating the assassination attempt while Ross tasks ex-Widow Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) to look into things on her own. Meanwhile, Ross tries to salvage the treaty while also attempting to convince his daughter, Betty (Liv Tyler), to speak to him again; she's still angry about his attacks on Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) years ago. He's also taking pills created by the aforementioned Samuel Sterns for a health condition that's slowly killing him.

When Sam and Joaquin arrive at a secret base, they find Sterns, who's been manipulating soldiers into following his orders via mind control technology. Sterns' intelligence allows him to see every potential outcome to any scenario, so Ross used his intelligence to help get himself elected president, promising the villain a pardon if he did so. When Ross reneged on his deal, Sterns began using mind-controlled soldiers to sabotage Ross' treaty and ruin his legacy.

When Sam, Joaquin, and Ruth rush to the Indian Sea, brainwashed pilots begin to attack Japanese ships heading to Celestial Island, threatening to start a war between nations. The heroes manage to ease the escalating tensions, but Joaquin gets too close to an exploding missile and is rushed to the hospital, where Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) shows up to ease Sam's doubts about being Captain America.

Sterns reveals his master plan to Sam, personally, telling him he's infused Ross' pills with gamma radiation, the same thing that altered him and Bruce Banner. Sterns allows himself to be captured while Sam races to a press conference Ross is holding. It's not going well, as revelations begin to trickle out about how his inner circle was responsible for taking adamantium from Japan. Under increasing stress, Ross transforms into the Red Hulk, and Sam fights him to prevent any collateral damage. Sam is nearly killed, but he uses the Wakandan technology in his suit's wings to deliver a powerful blast after slicing into Red Hulk's skin, incapacitating them both.

When they regain their senses, Sam calms Red Hulk down, allowing him to turn back into Ross. With both Ross and Sterns now under control, Sam checks in with Joaquin back at the hospital. He admits that restarting the Avengers may not be a bad idea (as long as there's no government influence) and that Joaquin should be ready for the call. Sam checks in with Ross, who's being held prisoner at the Raft, bringing Betty with him as she's agreed to finally talk with her estranged father.

There is one post-credits scene in "Captain America: Brave New World," but it's largely inconsequential. While on the Raft, Sam pays Samuel Sterns a visit. Despite being incarcerated, Sterns seems oddly calm, and he proceeds to monologue about a coming threat. He ominously tells Sam, "We share the same world, don't we? This world you would die to save. It's coming. I've seen it in the probabilities, seen it plain as day. All you heroes protecting this world, do you think you're the only ones? Do you think this is the only world? We'll see what happens when you have to protect this place from the others." 

It's all rather vague but clearly alludes to the Multiverse that the MCU has been building up for several years now in a slow-burning storyline that will culminate with "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Avengers: Secret Wars." Robert Downey Jr. has been cast as Doctor Doom, the villain of those films, and this is likely where all of the disparate universes Sterns mentions will come together. In the 2015 "Secret Wars" comic by Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic, and Ive Svorcina, Doom forces different realities to mash together and rules over the resulting Battleworld like a god. The MCU's version of this story will likely differ wildly from the comics, but audiences should still expect Doom to threaten the very fabric of the Multiverse. 

Sterns doesn't reveal anything specific to Sam (or the audience), making this post-credits scene feel a bit disposable as many folks already know that "Secret Wars" is around the corner. But the vague threat may be what's necessary for Sam to get the Avengers back together for their biggest fight yet against these unknown "others."

Considering the title — "Captain America: Brave New World" — many critics have commented on the film's lack of political depth. For example, Looper's review of "Captain America 4" notes that "[t]he film isn't as aggressive politically as one might hope for, given the obvious narrative parallels for our current national moment." This is particularly obvious in its depiction of President Ross, who, despite the fact that he's done some demonstrably terrible things, is painted sympathetically. After all, he mostly just wants a relationship with his daughter again.

Ross kept Sterns locked up for years, using the villain's intellect for his own gain. He goes back on his promise to pardon the scientist and keeps him tucked away, so it's somewhat understandable that Sterns would seek revenge. He is, after all, effectively a victim in this story, but the movie isn't interested in exploring the nuance in that. Instead, we're made to feel bad for the president who, up until this point, has already attacked the Hulk and torn the Avengers apart with the Sokovia Accords. Why is he worthy of our sympathy but not Sterns?

The film also explores the idea of legacy, not only in Sam following in Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) footsteps, but with Ross wanting to rewrite his. The Sokovia Accords didn't make him popular, and he's trying to make things right. His presidential campaign slogan of "Together" is exemplified in him setting up a treaty for multiple countries to share access to Celestial Island's adamantium. But what does this have to say about the larger political movement in the real world? The movie appears to be intentionally obtuse on that point. The film was originally supposed to come out in May 2024, but extensive reshoots pushed it back almost a full year. Now, there's a new presidential administration, and Disney likely didn't want to step on any toes. As a result, the ending of "Captain America 4" pretty much says nothing at all.

"Captain America: Brave New World" begins with Ross asking Sam to lead a new Avengers team. Sam's understandably hesitant, especially when he considers the likelihood that the Avengers and the United States government will disagree on some major issues at some point. Another component of this is that Sam feels like he's not ready to lead the Avengers the same way Steve Rogers did. Director Julius Onah told IGN, "Our goal as filmmakers was to take him on a journey of questioning whether or not he made the right decision. Hopefully by the end, [we'll have] him and the audience go 'There certainly could be no one else.'"

That's why Sam is more willing to reassemble the Avengers by the end of the film, with Joaquin/Falcon in tow. So when, exactly, can we expect the new Avengers line-up to be announced? There's not a lot of time remaining until "Avengers: Doomsday" begins closing out the Multiverse Saga. The titular team in "Thunderbolts*," coming out May 2, seems to effectively function as a sort of Dark Avengers, comprised of villains and anti-heroes from past MCU projects. They may not be strong enough to stand up to Sentry (Lewis Pullman) and his evil alter ego, The Void, however, which may necessitate a different super-powered team to rise to the occasion.

"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" arrives in theaters on July 25, 2025, but that movie is set in an entirely different universe. The first MCU film of 2026 is "Doomsday," so that might be when we meet Sam's new Avengers team, which won't give them much time to get to know each other before Doctor Doom starts wreaking havoc.

Fans don't have to wait long after seeing "Captain America: Brave New World" to find out where the MCU goes next. "Daredevil: Born Again" drops on Disney+ in March, and the next big-screen Marvel movie arrives in May with "Thunderbolts*." The clearest connection between that film and "Cap 4" involves Bucky's quick cameo, where he talks about going to a campaign fundraiser. Ruth even refers to him as a future congressman, which recontextualizes what we've seen in the "Thunderbolts*" marketing materials so far.

If Bucky's a congressman, or running to become one, then it's highly unlikely that Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has recruited him for her faux-Avengers team. Considering that she seems focused on recruiting former villains, there's a good chance that whatever she wants to do with the team isn't exactly above board. Bucky may end up seeing through whatever schemes she has cooking and try to steer the Thunderbolts down a different path.

There's also the question of who the president is going to be in the next film. The "Thunderbolts*" Super Bowl trailer showed Valentina testifying in front of Congress, so the film will also have some sort of political bent. Perhaps they even settle on the "Thunderbolts" moniker in honor of Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross' nickname, changing the team moniker's origin from the comics where Baron Zemo derived it from a line in a Thomas Randolph poem: "Justice, like lightning, ever should appear to few men's ruin, but to all men's fear."

We're not even done with the Multiverse Saga yet, but that isn't stopping fans from anticipating the introduction of the X-Men into the MCU. Technically, we've already met a few mutants, with a variant of Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) appearing in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" while Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) was designated a mutant in her self-titled Disney+ series. "Deadpool & Wolverine" also features quite a few members of Marvel's Homo superior race, but that takes place in a different universe as well as the dimension known as The Void.

"Captain America: Brave New World" brings us one step closer to the mutants' full MCU debut with the revelation that Sentinel Island contains adamantium. Through the Weapon X program, Wolverine's skeleton was infused with the indestructible alloy, thereby giving him his signature metal claws. Adamantium is also used by numerous other Marvel Comics characters, mutant or not, from X-23 to Bullseye.

Many rumors have suggested Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine in "Avengers: Secret Wars," but sooner or later, the MCU will need a fresh face for the character. With adamantium now in play, the new Wolverine could be somewhere out there, ready to undergo a very painful procedure.

"Captain America: Brave New World" ends with the following text popping on the screen: "Captain America Will Return." This is a common occurrence in Marvel films, letting audiences know that other, often bigger projects are on the horizon, though it probably went without saying that Captain America would return for "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Avengers: Secret Wars." He's putting the titular team back together, after all — but where does that leave everyone else?

Sam tells Joaquin to be ready for a call, hinting that the new Falcon will be an addition to whatever form this fresh Avengers lineup takes. Bucky, as small of a part as he had in this movie, is a big part of "Thunderbolts*" and will probably feature in the next "Avengers" movies, too. Ross and Sterns are on the Raft, so they're still available if the MCU ever needs to do anything with them again, but they're effectively on ice for the time being, so they probably won't be back anytime soon, if at all.

Then there's Ruth, whom we'd assume Marvel will quietly drop. The character has been a source of contention ever since it was announced she would be part of the movie. Ruth, aka Sabra, is an Israeli mutant in Marvel Comics lore, often supporting the Israeli state, which has led to backlash against the character due to the real-world Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Pro-Palestinian protestors showed up at the "Captain America 4" premiere, calling for a boycott of the film due to Ruth's inclusion, despite the MCU presenting her as an agent of the U.S. government rather than Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. Putting Ruth in another movie would probably prove more trouble than it's worth, so it's a safe bet that her time in the MCU is done.

Right now, it's impossible to definitively state how the original "Captain America: Brave New World" story was supposed to end. That said, given the sheer number of reshoots the production had, it seems like a safe bet the movie originally had a very different ending. Until someone involved with making the movie speaks out, however, all we can do is speculate based on rumors and set photos — and it does appear as though there may have been other plans for Ross' final fate.

For starters, it's worth noting that set photos revealed Betty Ross at a funeral. In the film, Thaddeus Ross visits his late wife's grave, so it's possible Betty could've factored there at one point in the production process. Another theory is that Thaddeus himself was supposed to die at one point, with Betty visiting his grave. Instead, she winds up seeing him on the Raft, so that funeral scene was clearly scrapped.

There are also rumors that the post-credits scene was supposed to be different. According to leaks (which we know should never be taken at face value), Thaddeus was supposed to visit Betty at her home for a post-credits scene, implying that Red Hulk would be on the run. Other rumors suggest that Amadeus Cho was supposed to factor into the film somehow, with reports materializing late in 2024 that Logan Kim from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" was supposed to be in the film as the brainy, gamma-irradiated character. He's not in the movie, however, so Cho will have to make his MCU debut at a later time.