Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Marvel Studios, Movies, TV | Tagged: captain america: brave new world, carl lumbly, the falcon and the winter soldier

Captain America: Carl Lumbly on Isaiah Bradley/FAWS Journey & More

Captain America: Brave New World star Carl Lumbly on his MCU journey as Isaiah Bradley, beginning with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

With Captain America: Brave New World a month away, what little we do know involves its preceding Marvel series, The Falcon and the Winter Solder character of Isaiah Bradley, played by Carl Lumbley. The trailer released for the upcoming film revealed Isaiah attempted to assassinate current president Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (Harrison Ford) with a gun before getting taken down by the Secret Service, and Ross was escorted to safety. We won't know everything leading up to that until the film's release in February. When FAWS was released in 2021, the new Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), discovered the U.S. Government attempted to recreate the Super Soldier program following Steve Rogers's (Chris Evans) disappearance during World War II after crash landing and suspended in ice, but with Isaiah as the test subject for the Korean War. While Isaiah and Sam's friendship does come to a positive resolution at the end of FAWS' first season, we find Isaiah's journey takes a tragic turn. In part one, Lumbly spoke to Bleeding Cool about the audition process, if Marvel told him any long-term plans upon his casting, fan reception, and if he grew up on comic books.

Captain America: Brave New World and The Falcon and Winter Soldier Star Carl Lumbly on His Journey as Isaiah Bradley & Fan Reception

Bleeding Cool: When you were cast as Isaiah Bradley for 'The Falcon and Winter Soldier,' were you told ahead of time your role would be expanded in 'Captain America: Brave New World? Or was it something that you were told later during production?

I was not told at any point specifically. When I auditioned, it was not originally for Bradley. As far as I knew, the character had a different name. All I knew was that it was a character in Marvel Comics. The Truth had been written about six or seven episodes or comic books in the series about this character. Bradley is based loosely on what took place during the Tuskegee Experiments, so in some ways, I say Bradley, the character, was an experiment, and the individuals who did it (like creator Malcolm Spellman) were masterful and managed to weave that history into something I found compelling. The character spoke to me before I knew who he was.

How would you prepare for a role like this, balancing the sense of responsibility and cynicism? Did it feel like a cathartic process?

As with many of the roles I've gotten the opportunity to do, it does feel that way. Isaiah Bradley represented someone, like people I had heard about or people I've known. Not necessarily military, and not necessarily heroes, writ large, but heroic in the way they approached life. There was a lot in Isaiah I felt was a celebration of spirit, determination, and survival, so that cuts across many lands for me.

I feel like Isaiah transcends the bridge between the comic and real life. How have the fans approached you? Has it mostly been comic fans or more mainstream fans?

It's been wildly enthusiastic, and I must say that was a surprise since I didn't grow up reading comic books; I was not aware of their power [and influence]. My father and mother did not regard comic books as literature, and I won't go as far as to say they were absolutely forbidden in the house, but what we were reading was monitored.

It was easier not to make any waves, and there was plenty of great literature in the world, so I didn't feel like I was missing anything. My understanding now is the way in which comic books combine stories and visuals and the way in which images can speak sometimes much louder than any set of words makes them potentially very powerful. That's part of what I have learned coming away from it.

What I thought was to do the research I would always do, read about the character, and read about the little bit about creators and a little bit about the enterprise that put this together. I am in no way conversant with the Marvel Universe writ large. I met that through with great pride because I have a lot of stuff to do that requires me to be elsewhere, but I am enjoying my ride.

The Falcon and Winter Soldier, which also stars Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Don Cheadle, Danny Ramirez, Daniel Brühl, Emily VanCamp, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, is available on Disney+. Captain America: Brave New World, which also stars Mackie, Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tim Blake Nelson, hits theaters on February 14th.

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