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Anthony Mackie’s Captain America Kicks off Disney’s Avengers Campus Park

Sam Wilson is Captain America in Marvel and Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Avengers Campus was activated yesterday, and it was a wonderful celebration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with some of the stars! With Paul Rudd, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, and then, of course, Cap himself Anthony Mackie, the team brought the latest theme park in Disney’s California Adventure to life, and it was a beautiful look at the MCU and the journey we’ve been on as fans to see our favorite heroes come to life.

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The most emotional part of the night came from Anthony Mackie announcing that Avengers Campus had their very own Captain America, and out came Sam Wilson in his Cap gear. Watching Sam Wilson come into his own as Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a beautiful journey for the character as well as Mackie’s portrayal of Wilson. We’ve seen him grow as Falcon since Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but getting the shield and getting to take on the title of Captain America was a big deal not only for the character but, clearly, for Mackie as well.

“When Sam Wilson finally became Captain America, it was a moment that was all about the future,” Mackie said, carrying out a bag with the shield in it to address the press. “A moment where kids of all races can look at Captain America and maybe see a little bit of themselves.”

There’s something in Avengers Campus for everyone. I can’t wait to meet Captain America and cry. I can’t wait to see my sweet boy, Peter Parker, and just watch him swing above us all and have that little kid moment, pretending as if Spider-Man is real.

The beauty of Disney Parks doesn’t come from going and spending too much money to ride a ride. That’s just the nature of that beast. But it comes from the childlike joy going there brings. When you walk into Galaxy’s Edge, you’re in a world that Star Wars gave to us. And now, with Avengers Campus, every single video from the opening had me squealing like I was a kid again, and that’s what’s important about this. We can meet our favorite heroes, buy food that is too big because of Hank Pym, or we can see Sam Wilson take his rightful place as Captain America, and that’s got me excited to go.

Captain America deserves to be at Avengers Campus, and yes, I also cried at FRIDAY activating the park, but can you blame me? The Marvel Cinematic Universe means a lot to us as fans, and now getting to go and be a part of the magic is going to be a very special thing. I also want some of those Infinity Stone churros, though.

(image: Marvel Entertainment)

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Rachel Leishman
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh.

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