Anthony Mackie found out Sam Wilson would become the next Captain America because Chris Evans let him read the Avengers: Endgame script early. Mackie told the story in Cigar Aficionado’s September/October 2026 cover story, “The Marvelous Mr. Mackie.”
“Chris Evans is somebody who I hold near and dear,” Mackie said. “We’re at Chris’ house, and because he’s Captain America, he gets the [script] pages first. So he’s like, ‘Yo, did you read the new scene?’ I’m like, ‘Nah, what’s up?’ So, he takes me down…and he gave me the script and let me read it.”
“I Was Taking His Job”
Mackie said it was “really great and really emotional to learn it from a friend.” He added, “I don’t know a lot of actors who would have appreciated or celebrated that moment with a fellow actor in that way because I was taking his job for all intents and purposes.”
When he told the same story to Fandango in January 2025, Mackie said a group of them were at Evans’ house watching a game, and he assumed the worst when Evans turned to the last 10 pages of the new script and told him to read. “So I’m thinking they killed me off,” he said. Instead, he reached the line “He hands him the shield.” When Mackie asked why Sam got the shield, Evans told him it was because he was Captain America.
“We hug, we jump up and down,” Mackie said. He credited Evans’ reaction with giving him confidence: “His excitement for me becoming Captain America let me know that he knew I could handle it.”
The scene Evans showed him is the handoff at the end of Endgame, when an elderly Steve Rogers, back from living out his life with Peggy Carter, passes his shield to Sam. It closed Evans’ original run as Steve Rogers, which began with Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011.
Back Together For Doomsday
Mackie has carried the shield since, starring in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+ and leading Captain America: Brave New World in 2025. Both actors are back for Avengers: Doomsday, with Mackie as Captain America and Evans returning as Steve Rogers. The film opens in U.S. theaters on December 18.
Endgame itself is back in theaters now. Avengers Endgame: Encore, the re-release with new scenes leading into Doomsday, opened at No. 1 in North America last weekend.
For the latest news and updates make sure to follow us on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Threads | Instagram | TikTok
