The Leader in Captain America: Brave New World is Samuel Sterns, played by Tim Blake Nelson. Promotional artwork showed Sterns with green skin and an enlarged cranium, but that image is not the same as the later official marketing glimpse—or necessarily the character’s final look in the released film.
Who is The Leader in Captain America: Brave New World?
The Leader is Samuel Sterns, the scientist Tim Blake Nelson first played in The Incredible Hulk (2008). In that film, Sterns was known as Mr. Blue. Bruce Banner’s blood reached a cut on Sterns’ head, setting up the character’s mutation. In Brave New World, Sterns returns as a major antagonist and mastermind; TIME says the film connects his mutation to an ability to calculate probabilities. TIME’s release-day explainer describes the connection between the two films and Sterns’ role in the new story.
Captain America 4 is the informal shorthand for Captain America: Brave New World, directed by Julius Onah and released in U.S. theaters on February 14, 2025. Its central returning characters include Sam Wilson as Captain America, Thaddeus Ross, and Sterns as The Leader. SuperHeroHype’s January 2025 coverage identifies the cast and describes the promotional artwork.
What the promotional art showed
In its January 2, 2025 report, SuperHeroHype described promotional art depicting Nelson’s Sterns with green skin and an enlarged cranium. The artwork also featured Sam Wilson as Captain America and Thaddeus Ross as Red Hulk. That description applies to the promotional illustration, not to a confirmed frame from the completed movie.
There had been an earlier art report. On March 8, 2024, ComicBookMovie described newly revealed promotional art attributed to a social-media scooper. Its account said Sterns had an enlarged head, hair, and a goatee, while noting uncertainty about whether his skin appeared green. It was an early depiction, and it did not establish the final film design. ComicBookMovie’s March 2024 report covers that version.
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How the images differ from the movie design
The images emerged at different stages, so “first look” can refer to more than one reveal:
| Image or coverage | What it described | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Early art report, March 8, 2024 | An enlarged head, hair, and goatee; whether the skin looked green was uncertain. | An early promotional-art depiction, as reported by ComicBookMovie. |
| Promotional artwork, reported January 2, 2025 | Green skin and an enlarged cranium. | How Sterns was depicted in the artwork covered by SuperHeroHype. |
| Official TV-spot glimpse, reported January 29, 2025 | A smaller, elongated cranium and what appeared to be a partially exposed brain. | A later official marketing image, according to ComicBookMovie—not a full account of the finished character design. |
| Released film, compared February 15, 2025 | Post-release coverage described a design that differed from marketing and merchandise, retaining green skin but featuring an exposed-brain-like appearance rather than the expected enlarged skull. | A reported comparison with the released movie; see The Direct’s post-release comparison. |
ComicBookMovie’s January 29 report called the TV spot the first official glimpse of Nelson as Sterns and said it looked different from the earlier artwork. Its description of an elongated cranium and partly exposed brain should be kept distinct from the earlier, more visibly enlarged-skull illustration. Read the January 2025 TV-spot report.
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The practical distinction is between an illustration used to promote the film, a brief image in later official marketing, and the design seen in the released movie. Reporting after release said the movie’s appearance differed from the marketing and merchandise versions. The early artwork is therefore not reliable evidence of an exact final-film frame.
Why The Leader’s return matters
Sterns’ return carries forward a story thread left open by The Incredible Hulk. His exposure to Banner’s blood provides the link between the earlier film and the mutation explored in Brave New World. TIME describes Sterns as the new film’s mastermind and connects his altered brain with probability calculation, giving his character a role beyond a visual transformation.
Tim Blake Nelson also addressed the character’s return in a comment quoted by ComicBookMovie: “I think people are going to be pretty excited about what this guy looks like. And what he has to say and what he does.” The remark speaks broadly about Sterns’ appearance and role, not specifically about the promotional artwork.
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