One small aspect of Captain America: Brave New World‘s biggest MCU reunion was faked by Marvel Studios, causing some controversy among fans. By the time of Captain America: Brave New World‘s ending, a few surprise appearances were included in the story to excite audiences. One of the bigger Marvel cameos of Captain America: Brave New World was the brief return of Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, who had a touching reunion with her father in the film’s final act.

However, undoubtedly, the most exciting cameo featured as part of Captain America: Brave New World‘s cast was that of Bucky Barnes. Bucky appeared in the downtime between the film’s second and third acts, giving Sam a pep talk and perfectly building on their friendship that was solidified in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier​​​​​​. This reunion was teased earlier in the film thanks to a Captain America: Brave New World Easter egg found in Sam’s base which he inhabits alongside Joaquin Torres. Eagle-eyed viewers realized that Marvel subtly faked this moment, leading to a strange level of controversy being raised.

Captain America: Brave New World’s Sam & Bucky Photo Controversy Explained

Sam & Bucky’s Friendly Framed Photo Has An Interesting Behind-The-Scenes Origin

Custom image by Ollie Bradley

The tease in question was a framed photo of Sam and Bucky. The image is found in Sam’s Captain America headquarters, showing him and Bucky in a much more casual setting than they tend to be found in as their superhero alter egos. The moment is completely innocuous, yet has caused some backlash online after an intriguing detail was unearthed about the prop.

Audiences online have realized that the picture of Sam and Bucky shown in Captain America: Brave New World is actually an image of Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan from one of the many D23 Expo events of recent years. Marvel simply edited the original image, making it look like Sam and Bucky were out together for some recreational fun. A viral post on Twitter/X highlighted this, with the caption “didn’t even f***ing try,” since garnering over 200,000 likes and proving the controversy of Marvel’s workaround.

Why The Captain America: Brave New World Controversy Is Weird

The Moment Was Never Meant To Be Taken So Seriously

Custom image by Niall Gray

Admittedly, the controversy over this small detail in Captain America: Brave New World is strange. The reason for this is that the moment is not exactly a major, story-changing element of the film. Instead, it is simply a prop that is used for a small tidbit of world-building and character development. The implication that Marvel using a photo of Mackie and Stan that already exists rather than taking one specifically for the movie signifies a lack of effort on the studio’s part is somewhat baffling.

Rather than be used as a reason to criticize the movie and its creators, it would have been a neat behind-the-scenes fact that people could share…

Formerly, a moment like this in a movie would still have been singled out, only in a much more fun, positive way. Rather than be used as a reason to criticize the movie and its creators, it would have been a neat behind-the-scenes fact that people could share when rewatching the movie. However, the reaction to this detail has proven the opposite to be the case, with Captain America: Brave New World‘s Sam and Bucky photo causing a lot more heat than Marvel intended it to.