Brave New World to be a palate cleanser — one that remembers and builds on the events of Marvel’s other recent features. The film does a serviceable job of establishing a new status quo, but it struggles to articulate how this Captain America is different from his predecessor.

The screenplay of the latest movie in the MCU tries to be too many things to too many prior adventures, but at its core is a resonant story about Black heroism.

The reality of “Brave New World” is that it’s a setup film, which is a thankless task. It’s meant to build to the reassembly of the Avengers and the subsequent release of “Avengers: Doomsday” in 2026. In the interim, Marvel Studios will release films and series setting up their return.