Captain America: Brave New World producer Nate Moore has helped shepherd Marvel efforts like Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: Civil War and both Black Panther movies to the big screen.
With Brave New World, the mantle of Captain America moves on to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, who takes over from Chris Evans’s OG Cap, Steve Rogers. We sat down with Moore to talk about how the film’s locations blended real-world stakes and superheroes and villains.
Where was Captain America: Brave New World filmed?
Cap is entirely on home soil this time out, the second Captain America film to have shot in the US after The Winter Soldier. ‘The challenge is you’re shooting in one country but you want to make it feel expansive and big,’ says Moore.
The primary emphasis, though, was on keeping it real – even with super-powered entities fighting against that familiar backdrop. ’The best movies maintain a base reality that feels authentic, because as soon as the locations or the images feel out of place, it takes you out of the movie, and it’s harder to sell the drama.’
You can’t replicate the exteriors of the US Capitol on a sound stage
With Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson finding himself at odds with former Incredible Hulk and Captain America: Civil War antagonist Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross, now President of the United States and played by Harrison Ford (who took over the role from the late William Hurt), it’s natural to set the scene in Washington DC. ‘Captain America is interesting in how the idea of America is juxtaposed with the realities of America. Sam Wilson, who’s taken on this mantle of Captain America, has to navigate what that means.’
The Presidential assassination attempt was filmed at the US Capitol, Washington DC
Not everything set in Washington DC shoots in the city, where security concerns and the day-to-day business of government naturally limits filmmaking freedom. But this one did groundwork there to establish its setting. ‘We took the crew to DC so that you feel the exteriors of the Capitol,’ says Moore. ‘I don’t think you can replicate that on a sound stage.’
The DC foot chase was shot at Pershing Park, Washington
One foot chase early in the film begins in the East Room and ends in Pershing Park by the World War I monument called A Soldier’s Journey. The monument is an appropriate place to find both Sam and his friend Isaiah Bradley (Doctor Sleep’s Carl Lumbly), a ‘super soldier’ like Steve Rogers who was betrayed by his country. ‘Julius [Onah, the film’s director] is very research oriented, so [that choice of monument] is not accidental,’ says Moore. ‘It’s not far from the White House; we wanted a route that was plausible. What’s fun for Marvel fans is that it’s across the street from the restaurant in The Winter Soldier, where Sam interacts with Gary Shandling’s [Senator Stern] character.’
Harrison Ford’s Oval Office was filmed at Tyler Perry’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia
As well as serving as Marvel’s shooting base, Atlanta is also home to Tyler Perry Studios, a huge complex named after its movie mogul owner. Helpfully, it houses a permanent replica of The White House, complete with all its historic salons. ‘The Blue Room and the East Room and the Oval Office are all standing sets [there],’ explains Moore. The Presidential Bunker, however, to which Ross retreats after an incident, was a Marvel invention. ‘It’s inspired by the real one. Our production designer, Ramsey Avery, did a lot of research. But the things you assume would be high-tech in 2025 feel really antiquated. So building that bunker was fun because it’s a little bit sleeker and more modern than what we’d probably find.’
The Mexican showdown with Sidewinder was filmed at Westview Cemetery, Atlanta
The film’s ‘convent in Oaxaca’, setting for an action scene early in the film, is actually Atlanta’s 19th century Westview Cemetery. ‘We wanted the film to feel global in size and scope,’ says Moore, ‘and we wanted a physicality and a realness to it’. Working in a historic building was a challenge, particularly for the stunt team, who didn’t have the usual variety of rigs and safety equipment to work with. ‘But again, it gives it authenticity, because you can turn a corner and actually see the chapel where Sam faces off with [Giancarlo Esposito’s villain] Sidewinder.’
Washington DC’s famous cherry trees were recreated at Marvel’s Atlanta studios
Despite secret production codenames to throw passersby and fans off the scent – Brave New World’s was ‘Rochelle Rochelle’, a deep-cut Seinfeld reference – it’s nearly impossible for Marvel to film on location without crowds forming. ‘That’s the reality of the modern world,’ says Moore. ‘There’s an infrastructure to films of this size that make it harder to travel on location.’
Enter Marvel’s production base: Georgia’s Trilith Studios. The White House’s Rose Garden was replanted here for a POTUS press conference scene, and a Washington avenue lined with the city’s iconic cherry trees was recreated for a face-off with Thaddeus Ross’s alter ego Red Hulk.
Captain America: Brave New World is in cinemas worldwide Fri Feb 14.
All 34 Marvel movies ranked from best to worst.
The 101 greatest action movies of all time.