MCU Star Addresses Potential Return Of The Villain Who Set Up Avengers: Doomsday (Exclusive)

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One of the biggest surprises following the end of the Endgame saga was the announcement that Tim Blake Nelson would reprise his role as Samuel Sterns, also known as The Leader, in Captain America: Brave New World. Many expected him to reappear in a Hulk film, but that would have been predictable. Instead, Nelson played a key villain in Brave New World, setting the stage for future events in Avengers: Doomsday. The return was unexpected, and that was clearly intentional.

Nelson, known for his acting roles, has now written a novel – his second – about the world of superhero filmmaking. He recently talked to Chris Killian from ComicBook about his new book, Superhero: A Novel, which draws on his experiences making big-budget movies, including superhero adaptations. The conversation naturally turned to his role as The Leader and whether he might reprise it, especially considering how important his character was in setting up the events leading to Doom’s arrival. While he didn’t confirm a return in Doomsday, Nelson did say he’d be excited to play The Leader again.

“I can confirm that if I have my way, they won’t have to wait 16 years.”

Why The MCU Needs To Bring The Leader Back

The post-credits scene of Captain America: Brave New World featured a disturbing warning from The Leader about a future threat to Earth – a conflict with “the others.” The scene implies that The Leader predicted this danger through his understanding of probabilities, making him a potentially valuable ally. It would make sense for the Avengers, even briefly, to seek his help in understanding the nature of this looming conflict, especially considering his past with Sam Wilson.

Tim Blake Nelson Discusses Making His Novel Into A Movie

Nelson’s time working on film sets gives him a unique and helpful perspective when imagining how a story translates to the screen, and he’s shared that being replaced with a different role halfway through production actually allowed him to spend two months researching the part, with pay. But what about adapting his novel, Superhero, for television or film, similar to shows like HBO’s The Franchise or Seth Rogen’s The Studio?

If someone were to adapt this story, it would truly need to be a movie – meaning it would need to fully embrace what makes the cinematic medium special. Right now, ‘Superhero’ works best as a novel because it uses everything a novel can offer to deeply explore its themes. Novels allow us to get inside characters’ heads, experience events from multiple perspectives across chapters, and understand their thoughts and motivations in a way that other formats don’t easily allow.

When watching movies, plays, or TV shows, we only see characters’ actions and hear their words, which can often hide their true thoughts and feelings. The appeal of these mediums lies in observing characters unravel, much like real people. However, novels offer something different—we not only see what characters do and say, but we also gain access to their inner thoughts and motivations. It’s like with an adaptation, you’d almost want to do the reverse—reveal the internal world first.

He’s such a gifted speaker, it’s no wonder his novel, Superhero, is so captivating. It would be great to see this talented actor return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that would likely boost the franchise. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. Superhero is currently available for purchase from Unnamed Press.

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2025-12-03 00:10