Somewhere in the world, CM Punk is smiling at another Seth Rollins failure. During a recent appearance on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, the wrestling star revealed that he will not be part the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World, and he’s not sure why.
Speculation about the WWE superstar’s involvement in the latest Captain America installment first began in May 2023, when videos in which he was visible on the film’s set surfaced. Five months later at a WWE x C4 event, the former WWE World Heavyweight champion revealed he was “sworn to secrecy” about any involvement in the project, likely with Kevin Feige holding with a (metaphorical) gun to his head. Questions about his involvement began to arise when he told a fan on X (formerly Twitter) that no, an individual in the Captain America trailer released last November wasn’t him.
Now, we have definitive answers from Rollins about his work on the film. “The script went through a lot of rewrites and reshoots so what I was there to do, essentially my role got either repurposed or completely erased,” Rollins explains. “So I did do a bit of an audition to possibly pop into another role, I believe, or the repurposing of my role, I’m not exactly sure on what it was, but they ended up going in a different direction with it.”
It’s curious that a star of his caliber wouldn’t be given a straight answer on why he was removed from what may be the first blockbuster of 2025. With that said, he easily could be lying to set up a major reveal that shocks the audience. He has some experience in doing that, right?
In the end, Rollins or not, we’ll be seated and ready for Marvel’s attempt to improve upon a rather lackluster 2024 (and 2023, if we’re being honest) at the box office. Maybe a little WWE theatrics is just what they need.
