Captain America: Brave New World director hints at why and when The Leader’s divisive look was changed

So it wasn’t just us, then? There was something slightly off about how Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns looked in Captain America: Brave New World. We’re not referring to his excessively veiny crown and gamma-infused glowing green eyes, either. As revealed through some merchandise that surfaced before the film’s release, the version of The Leader we expected to see and the one we ended up with were quite different. Now, director Julius Onah has explained the reasons for the changes.

In the comics, Sterns resembled an excessively green Vincent Price, sporting a wafer-thin mustache on a foe with an overly large forehead. For fans, that appearance was already anticipated due to concept designs and Funko Pop figures that had surfaced online, but that didn’t come to fruition. Speaking to Variety about the film, which pulled in an impressive $192.4 million during its opening weekend, Onah outlined the efforts made to bring the legendary villain from The Incredible Hulk’s history to life, albeit not in the way audiences expected.