Captain America 4 Producer Addresses Changing Sabra’s Backstory for MCU Debut

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Sabra may not be familiar to fans of the comic book character when she debuts in Captain America: Brave New World next weekend. Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore has opened up about the changes they made to the character in the upcoming movie.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Moore addressed the character’s controversial inclusion in Brave New World. In the comics, Sabra is an Israeli mutant with ties to the real-life intelligence agency, Mossad. Shortly after Shira Haas was cast as Sabra in 2022, Marvel received backlash for the character’s inclusion in Brave New World due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Then, in July 2024, Marvel revealed that Sabra had been reimagined for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a former Black Widow, which led fans to accuse the studio of stripping the character’s Israeli identity for the movie.

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However, Moore told EW that the changes made to Sabra were “not to the extent of what was reported online or what was guessed online.” He explained that Marvel Studios has wanted to work with Haas for a while now due to her acting talent and “unique physicality” and that the changes they made to Sabra when bringing her into the MCU were not unlike the ones they made to the movie’s lead, Sam Wilson/Falcon/Captain America. “Much like a lot of the characters in the MCU, they’re not one-to-one with their publishing roots,” explained Moore, pointing to how Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson wasn’t depicted as a street hustler in the MCU, nor does he communicate with a bird named Red Wing telepathically.

The producer continued, “I just think there are differences that we have to make because film is different than publishing. It’s a different medium. But what we loved about Ruth was the attitude that she has that is very much in line with her publishing counterpart…she’s a hard-charging, very self-possessed woman who knows exactly what she wants, and she’ll go through anybody to get it.”

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Moore also implied that Sabra was always going to be a Black Widow in Brave New World and that the change from being an agent of Mossad to a former Red Room operative was not a direct result of the backlash. “We always thought it was interesting to anchor the character of Ruth in the Red Room mythology,” Moore said. “One of the things I think is really cool about the Black Widow film is suggesting that the Red Room was more than just a Russian state apparatus, that it was international. But Ruth’s point of view in the movie is really cool because it’s no secret she works for the U.S. government and she’s working with Thaddeus Ross.”

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He continued, “I think what’s interesting in the dynamic is Ruth and [Anthony Mackie’s] Sam have a very different perspective on who Thaddeus Ross is and whether or not he is a worthy president. And I think that’s going to put Sam and Ruth on a bit of a collision course in an interesting way.”

Serving as a sequel to both The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Brave New World begins shortly after Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford) has been elected U.S. President. After meeting with Ross, Sam Wilson/Captain America (Anthony Mackie) will find himself in the middle of an international incident, where he must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.

Directed by Julius Onah, Captain America: Brave New World opens in theaters on Feb. 14.

Source: Entertainment Weekly