Marvel Movie Actor Holds Stan Lee Responsible for Disney’s Creativity Shortcomings: Why It Doesn’t Add Up

In a bizarre claim, a prominent Marvel movie star claimed the Marvel Cinematic Universe is creatively limited by the comic book canon established by Stan Lee and other creators.

Anthony Mackie, who first played Sam Wilson a.k.a. the Falcon in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” a decade ago, argued that Disney’s MCU lacks creativity because its films and television series take direct inspiration from Lee’s work rather than creating something new or original.

In an interview with British entertainment outlet Radio Times last month, Mackie compared his time with Marvel to his most recent project, “Twisted Metal,” a live-action television show based on the video game series of the same name.

“I would say the Marvel thing is completely different, just because it’s such a space of controlled entertainment. Like, there’s only so much you can do. There’s only so much creativity you can bring to the table, because Stan Lee gave us so much content,” Mackie said.

“Whereas with this [Twisted Metal], it was like, ‘There’s a guy and a girl… go!’ So we were really able to build the world around it,” he added.

Mackie felt he could have more creative liberty with “Twisted Metal” due to the gaming franchise’s lack of storytelling. The same can’t be said of Marvel, which has 85 years of stories to draw from.

“That’s the hard thing about the Marvel universe. It’s like, you can’t really go outside of the lines of those comic books,” the 45-year-old actor continued.

“You know, when we introduced the Falcon, and the growth of the Falcon to Captain America, all of that had to coincide with what Stan had already gave us. So it’s an interesting juggle to be a part of that world. And this was more like, ‘Let’s just have fun and figure it out as we go.’”

Contrary to Mackie’s opinion, working within the confines of a fictional universe doesn’t necessarily translate to a lack of creativity. This is what Eric July, the founder and CEO of Rippaverse Comics, said in a recent video.

The independent comic book creator wholly rejected the idea that creativity is a “free-for-all” and explained how limits and rules need to be put in place for a story to flourish.

“I think creativity is being able to operate within confines that exist and coming up with a fresh story,” July said.

“But we live in this world now where creativity … is being able to do whatever you want,” he added, “even if it deviates so far from stories that have been told before or so far from who the characters are at its core.

“Creativity is not a free-for-all … They’re not interchangeable words.”

July also pointed out that the MCU has not been historically comic book accurate when it comes to certain characters, some examples of which Bounding into Comics noted. While Phase One of the MCU was largely accurate to its source material, a noticeable change happened in Phase Two.

“For some brief examples of Marvel’s change in design philosophy, look no further than the fact that such elements as Trevor Slattery having spent a significant time impersonating The Mandarin, Darren Cross’ taking up the identity of Yellowjacket, and the entirety of The Guardians of the Galaxy’s depiction represent significant deviations from their original comic book forms,” Bounding into Comics wrote.

Moreover, Mackie should be thanking Lee for creating multitudinous superheroes, including his own. The late Marvel Comics visionary first wrote the Falcon into existence in 1969.

Mackie, whose character now wields Captain America’s shield, is next set to appear in “Captain America: Brave New World.” The upcoming film is currently due for release on Feb. 14, 2025.