Sam Wilson's Captain America in Phase 5 with the Guardians of the Galaxy team in 2014

A new set photo from Captain America: Brave New World has revealed surprising new information about the upcoming MCU Phase 5 movie, hinting at a curious connection to the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Shortly after the finale of 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, Marvel Studios confirmed that Anthony Mackie would be returning as Sam Wilson, the MCU’s new Captain America, in his first feature film as the star-spangled man-with-a-plan. Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled to premiere in February 2025, and will seemingly connect many separate storylines of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.

In recent months, more details regarding Captain America: Brave New World’s production have been unearthed, including the mysterious casting of Giancarlo Esposito. Until now, Captain America: Brave New World has been thought to be focused solely on a grounded, Earth-based story for Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, but a newly-released set photo suggests otherwise. Shared by MCU Film News, this Captain America: Brave New World set photo shows what appears to be a group of Orloni hanging on a railing, teasing a potential connection to the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and cosmic stories in Captain America: Brave New World.

How Can Captain America: Brave New World Explore The MCU’s Cosmic Stories?

Baby Groot with an Orloni in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Orloni are small, rodent-like alien creatures, native to Morag, that were first seen in the opening moments of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy during Peter Quill’s mission to claim the Power Stone. Orloni have since appeared in every Guardians of the Galaxy project in the MCU, including 2022’s The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and were even featured during the Time Heist in Avengers: Endgame, firmly solidifying them as a staple in the MCU’s cosmic stories. This makes their appearance in the Earth-based Captain America: Brave New World even more curious.

Since his debut in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson has been a very grounded hero, and he is still one of the few MCU heroes who haven’t ventured into space. While Captain America: Brave New World’s storyline seems to be placing Sam Wilson’s Captain America in a political environment surrounded by down-to-Earth villains, including the Leader, mind-controlled super-soldiers, and the President of the United States himself, the Phase 5 project could establish links to the MCU’s cosmic stories. Notably, Brave New World releasing as part of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga makes this more likely.

After 2023’s Secret Invasion saw the last President of the United States declare war on extraterrestrials living on Earth, namely the shape-shifting Skrulls, it’s possible that Captain America: Brave New World will continue this plot. This means alien communities could be visited in the upcoming movie, perhaps even one where the inhabitants feast on the extraterrestrial Orloni. This could explain the appearance of the alien rodents in the Earth-based Captain America: Brave New World, as it’s unlikely the project will find Sam Wilson journeying to space, and this could also spell tragedy for any number of alien civilizations on Earth.