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Julius Onah, director of Captain America: Brave New World, has revealed why WWE star Seth Rollins was cut from the upcoming sequel, and hey… that’s showbiz, baby.
In case you missed it, we learned last year that Rollins has shot some scenes for Brave New World, with on-set images of the wrestler showing him donning a sinister black suit. At the time, though his role remained unconfirmed, it was rumored that Rollins would portray an unknown member of the Serpent Society, the snake-themed league of villains that had been linked to the plot of Brave New World ahead of its release later this year.
While the news was exciting for WWE fans, it’s probably best that they now put away their golden belts, since Onah confirmed that Rollins’ scenes have since been removed from the final cut of Brave New World. According to the director, Rollins’ erasure from the movie came as a result of “iterating and trying to figure out the version that totally works best,” he told Comicbook.com. While Rollins had completed some scenes, those were removed as the film continued “evolving,” and when newcomer castmate Giancarlo Esposito “became available.”
“I love Seth, Seth’s incredible,” Onah said of the wrestler, “but as we were evolving… we were trying to figure out, ‘hey, who’s somebody that can bring a very specific kind of gravitas that works with this tone.’” That’s where Esposito — an actor who has long topped fan-cast lists for the MCU — came in. “When Giancarlo [Esposito] became available, it was such a no-brainer,” the director added, before explaining the personal connection he has to the actor — whose credits also include The Boys and Breaking Bad.
“I have a very particular history with him,” Onah recalled. “He’s iconic for working with Spike Lee. I interned with Spike Lee when I was 19 years old.” Softening the blow of Rollins’ replacement, the director assured audiences that the casting of Esposito was all in service of the quality of Brave New World, saying the actor “worked in the grounded tone and vision I have for this film.” Adding the final nail in Rollins’ coffin, Onah said Esposito simply “made sense” for the role, and gushed about “what a blessing [it is] to have him in this film.”
Of course, we’d heard rumblings of Rollins’ removal from the movie since as far back as last July, when the trailer for Brave New World arrived without sight of the wrestling star. Despite the revelation that he has since been left on the cutting room floor, Rollins previously gushed about his role in the film, saying “it was a really good experience” being on set and anticipating that Brave New World is “going to be pretty cool.” Rollins’ removal is the latest update we’ve gotten ahead of Brave New World’s release, which is slated for February 14.
Last month, we learned that the film will see the return of an important, non-Harry Styles Eternals character, as well as the potential runtime of the sequel. Elsewhere, Anthony Mackie — who is taking the reins from Chris Evans as this iteration’s titular hero — said Brave New World will harken back to the days of “old-school” Marvel, and stoked controversy for his comments about what Captain America represents to him. Alongside Mackie and Esposito (but not Rollins), Brave New World stars Harrison Ford as big bad villain Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross.