Anthony Mackie Originally Auditioned For The Mandarin Role Before Becoming Falcon

It might be hard to imagine Anthony Mackie playing any other Marvel character other than Sam Wilson, but before he became the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Falcon, the actor originally tried out for the role of The Mandarin.

Men's Health just recently wrote a news piece about Mackie's career, and in the article, readers get to learn that Mackie originally auditioned for the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. The role eventually went to Ben Kingsley, but Mackie was so good, that when he ended up speaking with director Joe Russo and producer Nate More about joining in on Captain America: The Winter Soldier, he landed himself a part.

"He has charisma, but he also has the ability to convey integrity in a way that very few actors can," Russo said. "And there's a level of trust between him and the audience."

Mackie didn't find out that he had been cast as Falcon until a few weeks before Winter Soldier's production and the actor was more than happy to take the role. He had always loved Falcon growing up because Sam Wilson was a comic book hero that wasn't necessarily identified by his race.

"Growing up, I'd always loved Falcon, because he was a comic book hero who was black who didn't have 'Black' in the title," Mackie explained. "He stood on his morals. He stood on who he was."

Now, Mackie is faced with the task of playing Marvel's new Captain America. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) passed on the mantle to Falcon at the end of Avengers: Endgame and now everyone's excited to see what Sam Wilson's version of the supersoldier might look like.

Marvel's next film, Spider-Man: Far From Home, comes swinging into cinemas July 2, 2019.

Read: First Look At Falcon's Captain America Was Supposed To Be In Spider-Man: Far From Home