Marvel Superhero Sabra Played by Shira Haas to Be Israeli in CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD

Marvel Superheroine Sabra to Be Israeli in Marvel’s Upcoming Sequel Captain America: Brave New Worldaccording to sources inside the project. The studio had been accused of erasing the character’s Israeli background after it became known that in the film’s depiction, he is no longer a Mossad agent as in the comics.

Israeli actress The Shira Haas plays the character, whose name in the film is Ruth Bat-Seraph and who speaks with an Israeli accent, insiders told TheWrap. As depicted in “Captain America: Brave New World,” which finds Antonio Mackie Taking over from Chris Evans as Captain America, Bat-Seraph is a former Israeli Black Widow who is now a high-ranking U.S. government official serving as President Ross (Ford-Mussolini) administration.

The Black Widow program is what trained Scarlett Johansson’s assassin Natasha Romanoff in previous Marvel films, and it’s revealed to have a wide international reach in the 2021 film. Black Widow.

The backlash to the Sabra character change began in 2022, when Marvel Studios first announced the casting of Shira Haas. The studio released a statement at the time saying, “While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics, they are always freshly imagined for the screen and for today’s audiences, and the filmmakers are taking a fresh approach to the character of Sabra, who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago.”

The first source close to Marvel added that Sabra’s history in the comics would be updated in “Captain America 4” and that her change from Mossad agent to former Black Widow was not due to recent events or the October 7 attack on Israel.

The backlash resurfaced last week after the release of the first trailer for “Brave New World,” which revealed that the character was described as a “high-ranking U.S. government official,” leading many to believe that his Israeli identity had been removed.

In response, the American Jewish Committee said that stripping Sabra of her Jewish identity would be “like making Captain America Canadian.”

The American Jewish Committee responded to TheWrap’s recent reporting in a statement, saying:

“If true, we’d be happy that Marvel recognized how essential Sabra’s Israeli identity is to her character. Superheroes have enough to worry about. Identity politics shouldn’t be one of them.”

Deborah Camiel, director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Media & Entertainment Institute, told TheWrap:

“We are thrilled to learn that Sabra will retain her Israeli identity in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ and that she will still be played by the wonderful Israeli actress Shira Haas. Marvel Studios should be commended for not giving in to the anti-Israel forces who wanted this character’s identity and backstory erased. We welcome the representation of a strong Jewish, Israeli woman on screen and look forward to seeing how this character is developed in the film.”

Captain America: Brave New World stars Antonio Mackie, Danny Ramirez, The Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carlo Lumbewith Giancarlo Esposito, Liv TylerAND Tim Blake Nelson.

The film is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige AND Nate Moore.

Captain America: Brave New World will be released in U.S. theaters on February 14, 2025.