Shira Haas in the new trailer for “Captain America: Brave New World.” Photo: YouTube screenshot

Marvel Studios debuted the first teaser for “Captain America: Brave New World” on Friday and it shows Israeli actress Shira Haas as an Israeli superhero alongside the other stars of the film, including Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Sebastian Stan, and Giancarlo Esposito.

The upcoming superhero movie is the fourth film in the “Captain America” ​​franchise but the first movie to star Mackie’s character, Sam Wilson, as the new Captain America. Esposito plays the villain in the new film and the final moments of the trailer also give audiences a first look at Red Hulk catching Captain America’s vibranium shield.

“After meeting with newly elected US President Thaddeus Ross, played by Harrison Ford in his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident,” said a synopsis from Marvel Studios. “He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.”

Marvel announced in September 2022 that Haas will star in “Captain America: Brave New World” as an Israeli superhero named Sabra, whose real name is Ruth Bat-Seraph. The character, who first appeared in the Marvel comics in 1980, is an Israeli mutant who serves as a member of the Israeli Police and an agent for the Mossad, Israel’s spy agency. Her superpowers include superhuman strength, speed, a regenerative healing power, and the ability to charge others by transferring her life energy to them. “Sabra” is a term in Hebrew used to describe someone who is native to Israel.

Since Marvel’s announcement in 2022, supporters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel tried, unsuccessfully, to urge Marvel to drop Haas from the film. They also threatened to boycott the new “Captain America” movie if it includes the Emmy-nominated actress, whose credits include the popular Netflix shows “Shtisel” and “Unorthodox.” In response to all the backlash, which intensified after the start of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in October, Marvel Studios said in a statement that it would take a “new approach” to the Sabra character in the upcoming Captain America film. Marvel add that “while our characters and stories are inspired by the comics, they are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience.”

Marvel did not elaborate further on its approach to the Sabra character but Israel’s Mako reported on Friday that Haas’s role in the film was in fact expanded and she was given additional parts in the movie.

At the end of 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” Steve Rogers, the original Captain America played by actor Chris Evans, passed the torch to Mackie’s character when he decided to return to the past and live out the remainder of his life peacefully with his partner Peggy Carter. He gives his famous shield to his good friend Sam Wilson, making him the new Captain America. In the television miniseries “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” which streams on Disney Plus, Wilson at first declines to become the new Captain America and it was announced that another person would take on the role, a new character in the Marvel Universe named John Walker. But by the end of the series, the title was stripped from Walker, and Wilson decided to take the title upon himself, transforming him from “The Falcon” to “Captain America.”