Anthony Mackie revealed the line he wanted to say as Sam Wilson in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

As he told fans at Saturday’s Drive-In FYC event for Marvel Studios and Disney, Mackie said he wanted to make a commentary about Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan during Sam’s epic monologue after he officially takes on the Captain America mantle and defeats the Flag-Smashers with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Even though his line was rebuking Trump’s xenophobic and racist viewpoints, Mackie’s idea was denied.

“One thing I wanted to put at the end of the monologue–and it got shot down–was if we’re going to ‘make America great again,’ it has to be done by Americans,” he said, as reported by Buzzfeed. “And no matter what your race, creed, color or sexuality is, you’re an American. And that’s what I think the new Captain America captures.”

He also talked about the monologue as a whole and its relationship to real-world events.

“With all of the protests and everything that went on in 2020, there were just as many Brown people as Black people as white people as Asian people,” he said, according to Decider. “Everyone, everyone in this country at this time wants to see a change, and that monologue sums that up in a beautiful way.”

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier earned fans due to its hard focus on race in our reality and as it shows up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Within the series, Sam wrestles with the complicated history of the Captain America name, including the discovery of the first superpowered soldier created by the government, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly). Instead of being hailed as a hero, however, Isaiah was imprisoned and experimented on, a stark cry from the hero’s welcome Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) received as Captain America. The series is available for viewing on Disney+

Sam Wilson

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