‘That lane is left open for a reason’: A ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ character may not be truly “dead”
As Phase 5 of the MCU comes to a close, Marvel may be keeping a powerful villain introduced in 'Captain America 4' on the sidelines.
Director Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World is a fairly contained entry as far as the Marvel Cinematic Universe is concerned, shining the spotlight on Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson. Still, fans can’t help but wonder if one of the film’s primary antagonists could be back for future MCU projects.
If you knew one thing about Brave New World going in, it was that Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk (a.k.a. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross) was in it. But there are plenty of smaller villains who ultimately set the stage for President Ross’ Hulk-out, as well as that final battle against Cap. Samuel Sterns/The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson) is back, and this time, he’s pulling the strings in an attempt to carry out his revenge plot. And before him, there’s Sidewinder, played by Hollywood’s go-to bad guy: Giancarlo Esposito.
Sidewinder is hardly the most recognizable villain out there, but he did play a significant role in the Marvel comics. As the leader of the Serpent Society, Sidewinder went up against heroes such as Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, and even Captain America–albeit, with a bit more flare than his MCU counterpart. You see, Sidewinder’s reptilian look and teleportation abilities were axed for Brave New World, as here, he’s just a mercenary hired by Sterns to stop Sam and Joaquin (Danny Ramirez) before they can uncover his nefarious plans.
Despite casting an actor as high-profile as Esposito, Sidewinder was neutralized without much pomp and circumstance in Brave New World, leading fans to question is this is truly the last we’ve seen of him. And if recent remarks from Onah are anything to go by, Sidewinder’s story could just be getting started.
Does Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder have a future in the MCU?
Speaking with The Wrap, Onah was asked about Sidewinder’s future, and if Kevin Feige & Co. have any plans to bring him back for Phase 6 and beyond. Elusive as ever, Onah responded: “That lane is left open for a reason, is all I’ll say,” alluding to Sidewinder’s imprisonment at the end of Brave New World.
Esposito certainly has a flair for flashy resurrections (i.e. The Mandalorian), so even if Sidwinder isn’t strictly dead at the end of Brave New World, Onah’s cryptic hints about him coming back isn’t surprising given how bad Marvel is at actually killing off its villains—both literally and metaphorically. Similar to how Samuel Sterns evolved into The Leader after being poisoned by Bruce Banner’s blood in The Incredible Hulk, I do see Marvel finding a way for him to break out of prison if he’s still kicking—perhaps, with the help of Mr. Blue—and taking some sort of substance that leaves him in his comics-accurate snake form.
Is this strictly necessary? Absolutely not. Marvel has a bevy of supervillains far more important than Sidewinder (cough cough, Doctor Doom) to address first, but you don’t just hire someone of Esposito’s caliber just to throw him to the wayside. In any case, Onah seems to be implying that Sidewinder’s time in the MCU is far from finished, so it’ll be interesting to see what creatives have in mind for this character moving forward.
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