Captain America: Brave New World Leaves One Massive Question Unanswered

This post contains major spoilers for "Captain America: Brave New World."

2024 was a pretty quiet year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with only "Deadpool & Wolverine" hitting theaters. 2025 is a different animal, as we've got several MCU entries gracing the silver screen this year, beginning with "Captain America: Brave New World," which is currently in theaters at the time of publication. This is a very consequential film regarding the wider MCU, from addressing the Celestial in the ocean from "Eternals" to introducing us to Harrison Ford's take on Thaddeus Ross. That second plot point warrants much discussion.

"Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" icon Harrison Ford takes over the role of Thaddeus Ross in the MCU in place of the late William Hurt. This marks the actor's first appearance as the character, who has been part of this universe dating back to 2008's "The Incredible Hulk." In "Brave New World," Ross is introduced as the newly-elected President of the United States, elevating him from war hero to one of the most important men in the world. Ross' big goal is to get a treaty passed that will divide up all of the newly-discovered Adamantium inside of the Celestial from "Eternals" equally between nations. It doesn't go according to plan.

We discover that Tim Blake Nelson's Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader, is pulling the strings behind the scenes. He's been secretly dosing Ross with gamma radiation, allowing him to unleash Red Hulk at precisely the wrong time in front of the White House after an international incident in the Indian Ocean that erupted over the Adamantium. Anthony Mackie's Captain America is forced to face Red Hulk and stop him, but all of this takes place in front of global eyes, demonstrating that Ross is unfit for the presidency.

This is where things get interesting, leaving an open-ended question that might have consequences for the MCU in the future. 

After the incident with Red Hulk — which sees him leveling most of the White House in addition to being responsible for however many more millions in property damage — it was impossible for Ross to keep his title as POTUS. As the movie's third act draws to a close, Sam visits Ross at The Raft, the floating prison first introduced in "Captain America: Civil War," where the now-former president is being held as a demonstration of his commitment to what's best for the country.

Sam Wilson commends Ross for giving up his role as President of the United States willingly. This is a big deal as it means there is a new head of the U.S. in the MCU. The question we're left with is, who took over for Ross? Whether it was a deliberate tease or Marvel Studios not wanting to commit to that just yet, we never were introduced to Ross' Vice President in "Brave New World." So, at the moment, it's entirely unclear who is now sitting in the Oval Office. This is rather important because Ross was only around 100 days into his first term. Whoever this person is, they could be in office for a while. Whoever it is will be left to determine what is done with the country's share of the Adamantium, one of the strongest and most valuable materials in the Marvel universe. That alone is a big deal. 

For what it's worth, Ross was the first consequential character in the MCU to hold the title of President of the United States. We previously saw William Sadler as President Ellis, for example, in "Iron Man 3," but that was the first time he was introduced. So, is the new POTUS another relatively minor character? Or does Ross stepping aside present Marvel Studios the chance to introduce a more meaningful character in a future film?

It's entirely possible, if not likely, that the lack of acknowledging who Ross' Vice President was had nothing to do with teeing up a reveal later. Is it possible that we'll learn who the new President of the United States is in "Thunderbolts*" this summer? Certainly, but it might just be a work-a-day politician, rather than some meaningful character from the pages of Marvel Comics.

Now, if we assume that this is a setup for something more, one thing we know for sure is that the introduction of Adamantium into the MCU means the X-Men are coming. After all, this is the substance that is used to craft Wolverine's claws. Is it possible this new President will be a bridge to the forthcoming "X-Men" reboot within the MCU? There are logical options. Senator Kelly, for example, who was played by Bruce Davison in the original "X-Men" films, is a character who could take that mantle, most likely with a different actor. There's also Henry Gyrich, a liaison for the U.S. government in the comics, who also appeared briefly in the films, played by Matthew Sharp.

Though there is no evidence to support this one, it's also possible, if unlikely, that this is how the MCU could introduce Norman Osborn. One of Spider-Man's greatest foes, the man who was once the Green Goblin does eventually become President of the United States in the comics. Again, since Sony controls the "Spider-Man" franchise, this seems wildly unlikely, but stranger things have happened. What we know for sure is someone is in that chair taking over for Ross, and that person now has a great deal of power. 

For more on "Captain America: Brave New World," you can listen to a couple of my /Film colleagues have a spoiler-filled discussion about the movie on today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast:

"Captain America: Brave New World" is in theaters now.