Nate Moore, producer of Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World, has revealed that Marvel Studios changed Shira Haas‘ Ruth Bat-Seraph/Sabra in the movie, but not in response to the backlash over the character being an Israeli superhero.
In a recent interview with Variety, Moore confirmed that Sabra’s character has been changed for her debut in Captain America: Brave New World. He says that Marvel Studios did not make these changes because of the backlash over her Israeli background, even though there was criticism in Israel.
In the comics, Sabra was a Mossad agent, but in the movie, she now works for the U.S. government. She is also no longer a mutant and is instead connected to the Red Room, the secret training program from Black Widow. Moore said the goal was to create the best version of the character while still respecting her original roots.
Moore said, “She’s Israeli, but she’s not Mossad. Now she works in the U.S. government…She’s no longer a mutant. She’s a part of the red room [from ‘Black Widow’]. 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.”
Moore continues, “What we thought was interesting was a lot of the characters in the film revolve around President Thaddeus Ross [Harrison Ford[.” he added, “Ruth works within the government under Ross, so her perspective on that character and Sam’s perspective sort of put them on a collision course. She’s first-generation Israeli, but she works within the U.S. government.”
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 Ramirez as Joaquín Torres/Falcon, Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/Leader, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Ford as President Thaddeus Ross, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph/Sabra, Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder, Rosa Salazar, and Xosha Roquemore.
Here’s the official synopsis for Captain America: Brave New World:
“After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, played by Harrison Ford in his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.”
Captain America: Brave New World will have a runtime of 1 hour and 58 minutes and will hit theaters, including IMAX, on February 14, 2025.
Source: Variety
