Marvel Studios recently made some major announcements at Disney’s D23 Expo. This included many of the cast members that will be joining the upcoming MCU film Captain America: New World Order. One of the cast members announced for the project was Shira Haas, who will be playing the character Sabra. Now it appears the announcement for Captain America: New World Order has been receiving backlash online.
The backlash begins with the character’s name. This is something that has upset a number of readers since she was first introduced in the comic books. They often associate the name Sabra with the refugee camp in Lebanon. It just so happened that this camp was the location where a Christian militia killed hundreds of Palestinians in front of Israeli troops. The comic book version of the character is also illustrated to have fought many offensive Arab stereotypes over the years. As such, many fear that the character would be portrayed the same way in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, according to Variety, this is not the case.
Marvel Studios has issued a statement in response to the Captain America: New World Order backlash. They claim that their characters and stories “are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience.” As such, we should expect such a treatment to be applied to Sabra as well. As they’ve stated in full:
“While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics,” Marvel Studios began. “They are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago.”
The new sequel Captain America: New World Order will be directed by Julius Onah. The screenplay was written by Dalan Musson and Malcolm Spellman. Meanwhile, Spellman will also produce the film alongside Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
Captain America: New World Order will also include Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, Shira Haas as Sabra, Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, and Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley. Meanwhile, The Incredible Hulk actor Tim Blake Nelson will reprise his role as The Leader for the film.
Fans will be able to see Captain America: New World Order when it hits theaters on May 3, 2024.