Anthony Mackie Didn’t Know He Was in ‘Avengers 2’ Until He Saw the Poster

Now that we’re nearly a decade into the ever-ambitious Marvel cinematic universe and have had plenty of chances to observe, it’s safe to say that Marvel Studios moves in mysterious ways. The studio’s shared universe model has become the envy of Hollywood producers and the scourge of talent agencies, with their secretive development proving frustrating and fascinating in equal measure. Case in point: Anthony Mackie (AKA, Sam Wilson, the Falcon) now claims that he didn’t even know he was in Avengers: Age of Ultron until he saw his name on the poster.

To be fair, Mackie could be joking or exaggerating. Speaking from a panel at the Emerald City Comic Con, the actor explained that that Marvel’s stable of actors are often as in the dark as fans. He claims that a friend had to call him and inform him of his presence in the upcoming Avengers sequel after seeing his name on the poster:

This is how it goes. About two weeks ago, I got a call. My friend was like, ‘Yo, Age of Ultron posters out.’ Why didn’t tell me you were in it?’ ‘I’m in it?’ That’s how Marvel rolls. When you see somebody and they say, ‘We can’t tell you,’ that’s because they don’t know.

This is a confusing statement for a number of reasons. Perhaps Mackie filmed some footage for a top secret Marvel project and didn’t even know if was for an Avengers movie. Maybe deleted footage from Captain America: The Winter Soldier was repurposed for the film. The most likely story here is that he filmed a small part and didn’t know he was in the final cut until the poster confirmed it. After all, director Joss Whedon has edited the three hour assembly cut down to a trim 142 minutes. For all he knew, Falcon’s role could have hit the cutting room floor.

And Mackie is probably jazzed that he’s in the movie! He wasn’t shy about wanting to be in Avengers: Age of Ultron, jokingly pleading with Whedon to put him in the movie through various interviews. It looks like he got his wish.

Although his role in Age of Ultron is going to be a small one, Mackie will be back in full capacity for Captain America: Civil War.