Giancarlo Esposito Reveals He Was Originally Cast as King Cobra in Captain America: Brave New World Before Switching to Sidewinder

Giancarlo Esposito reveals he was originally supposed to play Klaus Voorhees, aka King Cobra, in Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World, but ended up playing Sidewinder due to a lot of changes during pre-production, post-production, and even filming.

In a recent interview with Empire, Esposito said that producer Nate Moore had originally asked him to portray Klaus Voorhees’ alter ego, but Moore later made adjustments and gave him the role of Sidewinder instead. He liked the idea of playing King Cobra, especially since fans often call him “King.”

Esposito said, ‘If I’m walking around the neighborhood, African Americans go, “What’s up, King?” I love it. They call me King, baby! I mean, that’s the highest honor,'” Esposito recalled thinking in those early days. “‘But as it turned out, there [are other Kings] in the Marvel world, and this was connected to the Serpent Society — they were going back to the comics and trying to figure it out, and Nate said, “We can give you all the characteristics of King, but we think he should be Sidewinder.”‘

Before the reshoots, Cobra existed in the film and was played by Seth Rollins, but Marvel scrapped his role while revisiting the Serpent Society storyline. Klaus Voorhees, aka King Cobra, is a former convict who gains powers after a failed murder attempt involving a radioactive snake bite.

In Captain America: Brave New World, Giancarlo Esposito plays Sidewinder, also known as Seth Voelker. Voelker was once an economics professor, but after a chemical experiment by the Roxxon Oil Company, he turned into a crime boss and leader of the Serpent Society. In the comics, he has fought Scarlet Witch, The Thing, Triton, and Stingray. Now, in the film, he faces off against Captain America.

Esposito continued, ‘They spoke about creating a character that was really grounded, in a mercenary fashion,’ he added, noting that the character was shaped during the film’s extensive reshoots. ‘They wanted to ground the movie when they went back in to do some additional shooting, and their focus was now on this new character. So it was a bit of a whirlwind for me. I focused myself, went in there, and knocked it out.’

Directed by Julius Onah from a screenplay by Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, and Matthew Orton. The film stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America, Danny Danny Ramirez as Joaquín Torres/Falcon, Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/Leader, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus Ross, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph/Sabra, Esposito as Sidewinder, Rosa Salazar, and Xosha Roquemore.

Here’s the plot details for Captain America: Brave New World:

In Captain America: Brave New World, after executing a successful mission in Mexico, Sam (Mackie) and his partner Joaquin/Falcon (Ramirez) are invited to the White House to meet with President Ross (Ford). He asks Sam, the new Captain America, to reconstitute the Avengers Initiative. However, they almost immediately square off on opposite sides when an assassination attempt occurs.

The film is produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore under Marvel Studios.

Captain America: Brave New World has grossed $388 million globally on a $180 million budget. It is also on track to end its theatrical run with a total of $405 million to $440 million worldwide. Recently, the digital release date was revealed.