Anthony Mackie is set to have a big year in 2014 as he will make his first foray into the comic book movie scene as The Falcon in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER. It's also one of the few roles featuring a black actor in the genre and it's nice to see Mackie making that entry for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Mackie sat down with Rolling Stone and discussed the upcoming sequel, talking about his physical preparations, fan expectation, and what it's like working for the mighty Marvel machine.
On the physical preparations for the part:
I wanted Falcon to be really lean, so it couldn't have worked out better timing wise. I worked so hard to get my body in shape that I wanted to show it off. So I told Marvel I just wanted to be in spandex. But they decided that they wanted Falcon to be more of a military character, which I'm not complaining about, because my gear looks dope and I get to kick a lot of ass. Ever since I got in good shape, though, I'm all about spandex.
On fan expectations:
You know what? The comic book world is 100 times more fickle than movie audiences, so I've been trying to avoid reading any fan blogs or thoughts on how I might be a miscast or whatever.
On if he's seen footage of the sequel:
Yes, and it looks amazing. It's so much bigger than everyone thought it would be, and we're kicking a lot of ass. It's a lot of fun to be a part of, especially with Samuel L. Jackson, who's been my mentor for so many years.
On hearing about future Marvel roles second hand:
It can be frustrating at times, because if you're not "in house" with them, if you're not one of the people making the vision and you have no way of knowing what's going on. It's kind of like a sports game – something great can happen at any moment. One day you'll get a call from Marvel that's like, "Hey, we need you in New Mexico right now for The Avengers 2." I'd ride a moped to that set if I had to. My friends keep saying, "you'll be doing these forever," but I don't know about that. If it works out, it works out. It's all very hush.
I like Anthony Mackie. He's got a great energy and seems genuinely excited to be a part of the sequel, perhaps more so than anyone else in the cast. At Comic Con he was the liveliest of the bunch and played to the crowd well. When someone is that enthused about being a part of a project it gives me hope that what they're ding is really worthwhile. Of course, that doesn't take much convincing for me, personally, as I'm a huge fan of Captain America, but still it helps when the folks are jazzed to be working on something so big, rather than just collecting another paycheck.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, starring Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Redford, Frank Grillo, Hayley Atwell, Cobie Smulder, Emily Van Camp, Toby Jones, Maximiliano Hernandez, and Georges St-Pierre, is slated for release on April 4, 2014. – See more at: https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/is-this-the-new-costume-for-cap-in-captain-america-the-winter-soldier#sthash.31EIaASw.dpuf