Anthony Mackie Says Call to Be Captain America Was “Mind-Blowing”

Anthony Mackie’s mind was blown when he received the call that he was going to become the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next Captain America. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the second Marvel Studios series to premiere on Disney+, concluded with Mackie’s Sam Wilson finally adopting the mantle of Captain America. Chris Evans famously passed the shield to Mackie in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame. MCU fans were thrilled to find out Anthony Mackie will be starring in Captain America 4, and the actor isn’t taking the role lightly, expressing how important playing Captain America has been to him and his family.

The CMT Awards had Anthony Mackie as a guest on its red carpet pre-show. When the host asked Mackie what it was like when his agent called the actor to let him know he was being tapped as the next Captain America, Mackie said it was “mind-blowing.” 

“As a Dad of boys, it’s really cool when your kids can see you do something that they can watch,” Mackie said. “We do all these movies, most of them our kids can’t watch. But my kids were actually able to sit down and eat popcorn and watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, or Avengers, or all those movies. At this point, everything I do is for my little boys, so that’s the fun part.”

Mackie is co-hosting the 2022 CMT Music Awards with Country Music superstar Kelsea Ballerini, who is taking part in the festivities from home after coming down with COVID-19. The CMT Music Awards are country music’s only fan-voted award show, and the biggest stars in Country Music will be in the mix. This year will be the first broadcast on the CBS Television Network, though the event will also stream live and on-demand on Paramount+, and all the fun kicks off tonight at 7 PM CST.

“We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pair one of the biggest names in country music with one of the world’s most electrifying superheroes to host our biggest CMT MUSIC AWARDS ever,” shared Margaret Comeaux, John Hamlin and Leslie Fram, Executive Producers, CMT MUSIC AWARDS. “Kelsea and Anthony are each wildly successful in their own right and combined, bring mega star power that transcends the worlds of music, film and pop culture with a supersized fan base. We know this dynamic duo is the perfect pairing to bring our show to the next level as we reach our largest global audience
ever LIVE on CBS.”

“I had the pleasure of presenting at last year’s CMT Music Awards and received the warmest welcome from the country music community and the city of Nashville,” Mackie previously said. “I can’t wait to get back to Music City to co-host this year’s awards with the amazing Kelsea Ballerini.”

A release date has yet to be announced for Captain America 4, but if you haven’t seen how Sam Wilson becomes the Sentinel of Liberty, all episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are available to stream on Disney+.