Rumor has it that Captain America: New World Order is getting its title workshopped, and we certainly hope that’s true. The upcoming Captain America film was set up by the 2021 miniseries, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The series saw Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) slowly accept the mantle as the next Captain America after Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) chose to return to the past to live out his life with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) at the end of Avengers: Endgame. It didn’t take long after the show’s conclusion for a new Captain America film to be announced with Mackie in the titular role.
At the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, the film’s title was revealed to be Captain America: New World Order. If the title sounds familiar, it might be because, in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, “New World Order” is the title of the very first episode. The title seems to reference how dramatic change has taken place in the world since the events of Avengers: Endgame. After all, for five years, half of the population disappeared from Earth. Then, they all came back at once and set the world into chaos, with many of the survivors of the snap being displaced by returnees. Nearly the entirety of the series expands on this idea of accepting a “new world order” and acknowledging that change is necessary because the things that the world has been doing don’t work anymore with the shifting times.
However, “new world order” could also refer to the criminal organization of the same name in Marvel Comics. This was a group formulated by Red Skull and the Juggernaut that tried to take over the world. The Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) has not been confirmed to be appearing in the film, but Captain America: New World Order could create a different iteration of the team, perhaps led by Red Hulk (Harrison Ford), instead. Even though “new world order” could reference several harmless topics in the Marvel universe, that still doesn’t erase the negative connotation the phrase has in the real world.
Is Captain America: New World Order being retitled?
There is no official confirmation that Captain America: New World Order is being retitled. However, as reported by CBR, Marvel scooper @CanWeGetSomeToast claimed that a retitle is happening. On May 3, 2023, the scooper posted on Twitter to celebrate that the new Captain America film was just a year away. Followers quickly noticed, though, that they referenced the film as Captain America: Untitled. When a fellow Twitter user questioned if the film was being retitled, CanWeGetSomeToast replied in the affirmative. The scooper didn’t give any more information other than stating that the alleged change wasn’t the result of the current Writers Guild of America strike.
If Marvel is truly changing the title of Captain America: New World Order, it would certainly be in the studio’s best interest. This is because “New World Order” happens to be the title of a long-standing conspiracy theory. The conspiracy theory hypothesizes that a secretive elitist group is trying to achieve world domination by establishing a totalitarian world government. The phrase first arose during the World War I era, when leaders established the United Nations, one of the world’s first global organizations. However, the term has experienced a revival in recent times, with many conspiracy theorists believing that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is part of the establishment of the New World Order.
Believers of the New World Order will often find a group to accuse of manipulating and orchestrating world events to establish the global government. Jews and Freemasons are two groups commonly targeted by New World Order conspiracy theorists. Others believe there is a secret society of Satanists or Illuminati behind the New World Order. As a result, the New World Order conspiracy has proven dangerous, as many use it as a justification for defamation and hate crimes against certain groups.
As a whole, it encourages very irrational and extreme behaviors because its believers truly think that they are at risk of being enslaved by a new world order and, thus, are willing to take desperate measures to prevent it. As a result, even if it is just a reference to changing times or a villainous team in Marvel Comics, the title Captain America: New World Order could accidentally promote or raise awareness for this conspiracy theory, making a retitling look very appealing.
(via CBR, featured image: Disney)
