Giancarlo Esposito’s Rumored ‘Captain America 4’ Character Has Ties to Cable and S.H.I.E.L.D.

The first official teaser for Captain America: Brave New World has finally arrived, leaving every viewer wanting to know who Giancarlo Esposito’s cold and calculated villain is.

Esposito, who is best known for his role as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, will make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the new Captain America film. However, his appearance in the movie was a bit of a surprise to viewers. He wasn’t announced as part of the initial cast but joined the production during reshoots in May in a mystery villain role.

In the teaser, viewers see Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and newly-elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) agreeing to work together by making Captain America an official military position. Things quickly fall apart, though, when an assassination attempt and a global crisis break out.

Captain America: Brave New World‘s teaser does not unveil the actual villain and what global powers are at play in the conflict. However, it does tease that Esposito will be on the villain side of the spectrum. He appears in the trailer for just a few seconds, as he is seen wearing sunglasses and a stoic expression while carrying a rifle. Esposito’s character looks like a man on a mission, and viewers can’t help but instantly want to see more of this “I’ll do it myself” kind of guy.

Who is Giancarlo Esposito’s Captain America 4 character?

Esposito’s Captain America: Brave New World character has not yet been officially confirmed, but rumor has it he is playing George Washington (G.W.) Bridge. G.W. doesn’t have an extensive Marvel Comics history and doesn’t fall squarely under either “hero” or “villain.” He is fully human and boasts no superhero powers. However, he is very skilled in hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. After serving in the Vietnam War, he became a mercenary and worked under Cable in a mercenary group known as Six Pack for a stint.

When a mission goes wrong, G.W. leaves Six Pack and joins S.H.I.E.L.D. He proves to be a very capable agent and works his way through the company’s ranks. Still, his relationship with both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Cable were fairly on-and-of-again. At one point, he left S.H.I.E.L.D. because he failed to defeat Frank Castle, although he ultimately returned to the organization. Meanwhile, he frequently switched between opposing and trying to arrest Cable as part of S.H.I.E.L.D. to working with him as a mercenary. With that being said, he was never characterized as a villain in Marvel Comics, making it interesting that Esposito’s character is reportedly a villain.

G.W. still matches what we know about Esposito’s role. After all, G.W. was largely a guy who cared about getting the job done. He wasn’t afraid to use force, and his past as a mercenary means he doesn’t quite have the same moral qualms as the typical hero. Similarly, Esposito’s allegiances in Captain America: New World Order remain unclear. Perhaps he doesn’t have a stake in the conflict and was merely hired as a mercenary by another villain. On top of that, Esposito’s outfits are very similar to G.W.’s in the comics.

So far, though, only Marvel scoopers have claimed that Esposito is G.W., meaning an official confirmation is still needed. There are a few other theories about Esposito’s character, such as that he portrays Nick Fury’s brother, Scorpio, or the supervillain Achebe. Achebe was known to manipulate governments and politics to start global conflicts and ethnic wars, while Scorpio also enacted global chaos by attacking the UN and building and teleporting the world’s capitals to another dimension. So, both characters could fit into Captain America: Brave New World‘s story, but there’s little evidence backing up these theories.

It seems most likely that Esposito is portraying G.W. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the movie will follow G.W.’s comic book arc. His minor presence in the comics means the MCU has more room for creative liberties and to morph the character into something new in Captain America: Brave New World.