Marvel superhero Sabra will be Israeli in Marvel’s upcoming “Captain America: Brave New World,” according to two insiders with knowledge of the project. The studio had been accused of erasing the character’s Israeli background after it became known that in the film’s depiction, she’s no longer an agent of Mossad as she is in the comics.
Israeli actress 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 Anthony Mackie taking the Captain America mantle from Chris Evans — Bat-Seraph is an Israeli former Black Widow who now serves as a high-ranking U.S. government official in President Ross’ (Harrison Ford) administration.
The Black Widow program is the one that trained Scarlett Johansson’s assassin Natasha Romanoff in previous Marvel movies, and which was revealed to have wide international reach in the 2021 film “Black Widow.”
The American Jewish Committee responded to TheWrap’s reporting in a statement: “If true, we are glad that Marvel recognized how essential Sabra’s Israeli identity is to her character. Superheroes have enough things to worry about. Identity politics shouldn’t be one of them.”
“We’re pleased to learn that Sabra will be retaining her Israeli identity in ‘Captain America, Brave New World,’ and is still being portrayed by the wonderful Israeli actress Shira Haas. Marvel Studios should be commended for not capitulating to the anti-Israel forces who wanted this character’s identity quashed, along with her backstory. We welcome the portrayal of a strong Jewish and Israeli woman on screen, and look forward to seeing how this character is developed in the film,” Deborah Camiel, Director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Media & Entertainment Institute told TheWrap.
Backlash to changing the character began in 2022 when Marvel Studios first announced Shira Haas’ casting. The studio released a statement at the time that said, “While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics, they are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago.”
The first Marvel insider added that Sabra’s comic backstory was always going to be updated in “Captain America 4,” and her change from a Mossad agent to a former Black Widow was not due to recent events or the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The negative reaction resurfaced last week after the first trailer for “Brave New World” was released, in which it was revealed that the character was described as a “high-ranking U.S. government official,” leading many to believe her Israeli identity had been removed.
In response, the American Jewish Committee said that taking away the Jewish identity of Sabra would be “like making Captain America Canadian.”
Tensions are high in the wake of growing antisemitism following the Oct. 7 attacks, from college campuses to the Academy Museum’s Jewish Founders exhibit which opened with placards that were deemed by many to be antisemitic. In response, the Academy swiftly altered the exhibit and assembled an advisory group of experts focused on the Jewish community.
Changes from the comics, both minor and major, are par for the course for Marvel Studios as the films often adjust character origins, backstories and motivations. A retcon to make Bat-Seraph a former Black Widow would align with the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s post-“Avengers: Endgame” story building.
The Black Widows are likely to be a significant element of the MCU going forward, as evidenced by “Black Widow” star Florence Pugh reprising her role as Yelena Belova in the upcoming “Thunderbolts.”
Jeremy Fuster contributed to this report.
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