10 Years Later, Marvel Makes Its Goofiest Captain America Movie Prank A Reality

The Marvel Cinematic Universe today is almost unrecognizable from what it was ten years ago. Back in 2014, the franchise was barreling full-speed ahead to an epic Thanos-centric conclusion. These days, it's been trotting along in seemingly no real direction. In 2014, it felt groundbreaking when "Guardians of the Galaxy" allowed the MCU to go full space-fantasy adventure; nowadays, these movies go to space like it's nothing. In 2014, Robert Downey Jr. was playing Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man; now he's playing... Doctor Doom? Things are getting weird.

At this year's San Diego Comic-Con, the big RDJ news overshadowed a smaller, funnier revelation, which is that a joke from a decade ago has now come full circle. In 2014, Marvel president Kevin Feige announced Phase 3 of the MCU and pranked fans by announcing that Captain America 3 would be titled "Captain America: Serpent Society." According to one reporter covering the event, this announcement was met with disappointment and confusion from the audience: "Almost immediately all the grunts and groans about the title could collectively be heard across the globe. One of my friends asked me, 'What the f*** is Serpent Society?' Valid question."

Then Feige revealed this was a joke, and that the actual title would be "Captain America: Civil War," which fans had a much easier time getting hyped for. The Civil War arc was a huge one in the Marvel comics: a climactic event that most fans were already at least somewhat familiar with. In hindsight, this prank was the perfect way to get fans even more excited about the upcoming film. By setting expectations low a few minutes earlier, the real news had a much stronger impact.

At the San Diego Comic-Con 2024, actor Giancarlo Esposito came on stage and revealed that he'll be playing Sidewinder, the King of the Serpent Society. The next "Captain America" movie won't have "Serpent Society" in its title, but the mysterious group will still be playing a role in the story. 

So, what exactly is the Serpent Society? In the comics they're a group of sneaky villains who are clearly up to no good, confirming the age-old adage, "Never trust a group with snake-like terms in their name." One of the most famous members from their group is Madame Hydra, which will sure sound familiar to fans of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." That movie introduced Hydra as an evil Nazi-adjacent group that was trying (and basically succeeding) to destroy SHIELD from the inside. 

Some may say that the Serpent Society is a little too weird and off-putting for mainstream audiences. But if there's anything that's changed for the better since 2014, it's that Marvel (and Marvel's casual viewers) are far more on board with weird stuff in the movies. Comic book fans have almost fully won the culture wars by this point, which means that even if Marvel did throw "Serpent Society" into the new movie's title, it probably wouldn't elicit the same confusion and groans from the audience. Ten years later, this sort of storyline may still seem a little goofy, but it's far from the weirdest thing we've seen in the MCU.

"Captain America: Brave New World" will slither into theaters on February 14, 2025.