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Credit: Marvel StudiosThis week, the next chapter of Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe arrives.
With a projected global opening of close to $275 million, Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World (2025), Marvel’s penultimate Phase Five movie starring Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America, may not be the box office bomb it was initially expected to be.
Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres/Falcon), Tim Blake Nelson (Samuel Sterns/Leader), Carl Lumbly (Isaiah Bradley), and Liv Tyler (Betty Ross) all return to the MCU alongside Mackie. Newcomers to the franchise include Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Giancarlo Esposito as Seth Volker/Sidewinder, Xosha Roquemore as Leila Taylor, and Shira Haas as Ruth-Bath Seraph
Marvel Studios is no stranger to controversy, but its casting of Shira Haas has ignited a firestorm of backlash. Fans eager for a return to the grounded storytelling of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been calling for a boycott of Captain America: Brave New World for years now, following the inclusion of the Israeli actress as a reimagined version of the comic character, Sabra.
For those unfamiliar, Sabra—real name Ruth Bat-Seraph—made her Marvel Comics debut in 1980’s “The Incredible Hulk #250.” Created by Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema, the character is widely regarded as Marvel’s first Israeli superhero. In the comics, she sports a blue-and-white costume adorned with the Star of David and operates as an agent for Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency.
However, Sabra has long been a divisive character due to her portrayal in Marvel Comics, particularly in relation to Palestinian and Arab characters, which many argue are culturally insensitive. When Marvel announced Haas’ casting back in 2022, backlash immediately followed, and the controversy has only intensified since then.
The ongoing geopolitical conflict between Israel and Palestine has only heightened scrutiny on Marvel’s decision. With the recent military operations in Israel and Gaza–not to mention President Donald Trump’s recent claims of owning the land–dominating headlines, Haas’ role in the upcoming film has become a focal point of debate.
Tensions boiled over last summer following the release of the first official Captain America: Brave New World trailer. The trailer confirms that Haas’ character will play a significant role in the movie, albeit with a revised backstory. According to Marvel’s official synopsis, the film reinvents Sabra as a former Black Widow operative who now serves as a high-ranking U.S. government official, working closely with President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Ford).
“New to the cast is Shira Haas, who joins as Ruth Bat-Seraph,” Marvel.com states. “A former Black Widow, Ruth is now a high-ranking U.S. government official who has the trust of President Ross.”
This character overhaul is part of Marvel’s response to the backlash. In 2022, the studio acknowledged the controversy, stating via The New York Times (as reported by The Hollywood Reporter):
“While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics, they are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra, who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago.”
Despite this attempt to modernize Sabra’s character, the controversy has not subsided. In fact, this week, which marks the release of Captain America: Brave New World, new comments have surfaced from Marvel producer Nate Moore.
We always thought it was interesting to anchor the character of Ruth in the Red Room mythology,” the producer, who will exit the studio after this movie, told Entertainment Weekly.
“One of the things I think is really cool about the Black Widow film is suggesting that the Red Room was more than just a Russian state apparatus, that it was international. But Ruth’s point of view in the movie is really cool because it’s no secret she works for the U.S. government and she’s working with Thaddeus Ross.”
Moore went on to add: “I think what’s interesting in the dynamic is Ruth and [Anthony Mackie’s] Sam have a very different perspective on who Thaddeus Ross is and whether or not he is a worthy president […] And I think that’s going to put Sam and Ruth on a bit of a collision course in an interesting way.”
The longstanding Marvel executive echoed those comments in a different interview with The National, saying that Ruth Bat-Seraph in the movie is neither a mutant nor Mossad.
“When we made the Black Widow movie, we realized there was an opportunity to connect that mythology to characters that we thought were interesting and maybe didn’t want to translate as one-to-one from publishing,” Moore told the outlet. “The Ruth Bat-Seraph you meet in the film has very much, I would argue, the attitude of the character from publishing, but the backstory is different.”
“She’s a part of the [Black Widow] Red Room” he noted. “You want to make the best version of a character – be honest to the roots of the character without not necessarily doing what publishing did. We weren’t about to put her in a feather boa and have her throw diamond earrings at people [such as in the comic books] but we did like the attitude of the character.”
Despite Marvel’s insistence that this version of Ruth Bat-Seraph is different to the controversial character in the comic books, boycott action is still taking place, with social media users calling for people to not see the movie. This week, at the Hollywood premiere of the new MCU entry, pro-Palestine protesters waved signs condemning the superhero film.
“Protesters held signs that read ‘Sabra has got to go,’ ‘Disney supports genocide,’ ‘Boycott ‘Captain America” and ‘Pray 4 Princess Jasmine,’ Variety reported. “They chanted phrases such as ‘Free, free, free Palestine’ and ‘Disney, Disney you can’t hide.’
Further fueling the debate is Haas’ real-world background. The actress previously volunteered with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), a fact that, combined with Sabra’s history in Marvel Comics, has led to intensified criticism against Disney and Marvel Studios.
Adding another layer to the discourse is confusion surrounding the character’s name. As The Hollywood Reporter points out, some have mistakenly linked Marvel’s Sabra to the tragic 1982 massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon.
“[I]t’s also the name of a Lebanon refugee camp where a militia massacred hundreds of Palestinians while Israeli troops stood by in 1982,” THR states. “This was two years after the character first appeared, which is another bit of misinformation circulating online—some are claiming Marvel deliberately named the character after the massacre.”
With the debate only intensifying as the February 14 release date nears, all eyes are now on whether Marvel Studios will be able to weather the controversy at the box office.
How do you feel about the inclusion of this character in Captain America: Brave New World? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!