Anthony Mackie's Captain America is officially running the show in Avengers: Doomsday. Empire's world-exclusive Doomsday issue, published November 13, 2026, laid out the team Sam Wilson leads into the film, and Mackie made it clear the shield comes with the job.

"In Endgame, Steve gave him the shield and says, 'You need to be the leader of the Avengers,'" Mackie told Empire. "Now you get to see more of him leading the charge with everyone into battle."

Meet Sam Wilson's Avengers

According to Empire, the official Avengers under Sam are Danny Ramirez's Joaquin Torres, who now flies as the Falcon, Paul Rudd's Ant-Man, Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Simu Liu's Shang-Chi. Five heroes. That's a lean roster for a movie this size.

Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige told Empire the story picks up after a long stretch without a real team. "We're coming out of years of seemingly no organised Avengers team, and that's exactly when they face these incursions," he said. "That's always fun, to put your heroes on the back foot."

Sam's crew won't be alone on screen. Empire reports that the Thunderbolts, now going by the New Avengers, are in the mix with Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, along with the Fantastic Four and the Fox-era X-Men. Robert Downey Jr. is back at Marvel too, this time as the villain, Doctor Doom.

From Wingman to the Man With the Shield

Mackie first showed up as Sam Wilson in Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014. He took the shield from Chris Evans' Steve Rogers at the end of Avengers: Endgame, spent the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier working out what carrying it meant, and headlined his first solo film, Captain America: Brave New World, in 2025.

That count of one solo film? Mackie has some thoughts.

"If You're Thor, You Get Four"

During a live taping of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Mackie was asked about his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A clip of his answer spread across social media on November 13. "I think every character deserves a second film... I mean, if you're Thor, you get four apparently," he said, a jab at the four solo Thor movies Chris Hemsworth has led.

He wasn't only joking. Mackie said he "would enjoy partaking in the idea of two more films just to see that character complete his arc," as reported by ComicBook.com.

Marvel has not announced a second Sam Wilson solo film. Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters December 18, 2026.