Who Directed Captain America: Brave New World?

While the new Captain America: Brave New World teaser trailer evokes the look and feel of previous installments, the film wasn’t helmed by an MCU veteran. So, who directed Captain America: Brave New World?

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Who Directed Captain America 4?

Nigerian-American filmmaker Julius Onah directed Captain America: Brave New World. The fourth solo Captain America outing is Onah’s first foray into the MCU, as well as the most high-profile project of his career to date. Indeed, Onah has only directed three other feature-length productions: The Girl Is in Trouble, The Cloverfield Paradox, and Luce. Of these, sci-fi/horror flick The Cloverfield Paradox is the closest to an MCU blockbuster, although its budget was a relatively modest $45 million.

That said, some of Marvel Studios’ biggest successes have come from up-and-coming auteurs. James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming), and Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) were all rising stars when they made their respective MCU debuts. Heck, Jon Favreau was best known for Elf when he oversaw the first-ever MCU movie, 2008’s Iron Man!

What’s more, Onah’s MCU rookie status was offset by a number of experienced hands. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Vice President of Production and Development Nate Moore produced Captain America: Brave New World, while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier head writer Malcolm Spellman co-wrote the film’s screenplay. Spellman collaborated on the script with fellow Falcon and the Winter Soldier scribe Dalan Musson. Meanwhile, another MCU alum, Moon Knight‘s Matthew Orton, handled Brave New World‘s rewrites.

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Captain America 4 Director Teases ‘Paranoid Thriller’

So, Julius Onah directed Captain America: Brave New World – but what kind of movie did he make? Per Variety, Onah labeled the Captain America sequel as a “paranoid thriller” at a 2022 fan event. He later expanded on this description in an interview with ComicBook.com.

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“There’s a lot we’re going to bring to the table [in Captain America 4],” he said. “And this is a new set of challenges and a new set of adversaries. I love classic paranoid thrillers and that’s a big part of the inspiration of this film. We want to find an action that is grounded and tactile and give [protagonist Sam Wilson] new things to do that we haven’t seen in those other films, and I don’t want to spoil too much, but let’s just say that we are planning some really, really exciting things.”

Captain America: Brave New World arrives in cinemas on Feb. 14, 2025.