Giancarlo Esposito joins ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ cast

LOS ANGELES — Emmy nominee Giancarlo Esposito will appear in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’, which is slated to release next year.

Esposito announced his casting in a Marvel project during a panel in Brazil earlier this month. There, he squashed fan speculation that he would play Professor X in the widely anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe version of ‘X-Men’, reports variety.com.

“There’s something about being original. We’ve seen different versions of Professor X,” Esposito told the crowd.

“Wouldn’t you like to see me play a character in a Marvel movie who is original, new, and fresh? So, mark my words: This will happen sooner than you think.”

Esposito’s role in ‘Brave New World’ is being kept under wraps, however, it is being reportedly described as villainous, as per variety.com.

Anthony Mackie returns as Sam Wilson, now the newly minted Captain America.

Directed by Julius Onah, the film also stars Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Rosa Salazar. It was originally slated for a July 26, 2024 release, but was pushed back to Valentine’s Day 2025 in a round of rescheduling after the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Esposito is popularly known for his performances in dramas like ‘Breaking Bad’ and its prequel series ‘Better Call Saul’, where his turn as Gus Fring earned him three Emmy nominations.

He earned two more Emmy nods for his work as the Darskaber-wielding antagonist Moff Gideon in the ‘Star Wars’ series ‘The Mandalorian’. He’s also played nefarious former Vought CEO Stan Edgar in ‘The Boys’ and voiced Lex Luther in the ‘Harley Quinn’ series.

Talking about his upcoming projects, the actor will next be seen in ‘MaXXXine’ and Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’, which debuted earlier this month in Cannes.

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