'Captain America 4': Is Red Skull's daughter the villain?

Captain America 4 may see Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) crossing paths with someone deeply connected to one of the MCU’s biggest villains. The film — currently in development at Marvel Studios — promises to pick up where The Falcon and the Winter Soldier left off, with Mackie’s Sam fighting crime as the world’s new Captain America.

After facing off against the Flag-Smashers and John Walker, it appears that Sam’s next adversary could be descended from Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) greatest enemy.

The Leak — That Hashtag Show reports that the primary villain of Captain America 4 will be Sinthea Schmidt a.k.a. Sin, the daughter of the Red Skull. According to the outlet, which has delivered reliable MCU scoops in the past, Marvel recently put out a casting call, seeking to find a “Kate Mara type” right for the role. The film, which is reportedly undergoing script rewrites, will reportedly see Sin “re-evaluating the legacy of her father, Captain America (Steve Rogers), and Sam’s new role as Captain America,” as per the site.

Notably, this report states that Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter a.k.a. The Power Broker was originally meant to be the main villain of the film, but her role has allegedly been altered following the negative reception Sharon’s Falcon and the Winter Soldier storyline received from fans and critics alike. Sharon will still appear in the film, but in a more reduced capacity.

Rounding out this leak is a mention of the film’s “inclusion of an Avenger,” one fans “may not think would be a conventional choice.” The post doesn’t go into any more detail, so speculate freely about the identity of this alleged Avenger. But since these details remain unconfirmed by Marvel, take them with a grain of salt for the time being.

Enter: Sinthea Schmidt — If this leak is accurate, it would make sense for Marvel to be hesitant about giving Sharon Carter a larger role in Captain America 4. The character’s heel turn in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was widely derided; making her the central villain in the next Captain America movie could risk alienating audiences.

Honestly, Sin also feels like a far more interesting choice to menace Sam Wilson in his first big-screen outing as Captain America.

In the comics, Sinthea Schmidt is the daughter of the Red Skull, indoctrinated by him since birth. She leads a group of orphaned girls known as the Sisters of Sin. And over the years, the comics have seen her attempt to rebuild H.Y.D.R.A., be named the new Red Skull, and even have her face deformed in a manner similar to her father’s.

She’s essentially the embodiment of everything both Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson stand against, which could make her a particularly formidable foe for Sam.

The Inverse Analysis — If Steve’s first solo Captain America film saw him facing off against the Red Skull, how fitting would it be if Captain America 4 found Sam fighting that same villain’s daughter?

Besides, if the goal with Captain America 4 is to make this next sequel a blockbuster continuation of the plot threads explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it’s hard to imagine a villain better aligned with that mission than Sin. Falcon and the Winter Soldier dealt so heavily with themes of legacy that having Sam come into conflict with a literal descendant of the Nazi Red Skull would be a poetic twist.