Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra tricks fans into thinking it’s an MCU movie
As video game graphics become more impressive and movies rely on CGI more than ever, it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between a game cutscene and an actual movie. With accusations that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going too hard on its CGI (we're looking at you Quantumania), it's not hard to see why.
We've known for a while that Uncharted's Amy Hennig is working on a new Marvel game, teaming up Captain America and Black Panther for a war-based epic set in the 1940s. We've got our first look at Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, and while it looks worthy of an MCU movie, it's left some fans confused.
Everyone thinks Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is movie
Marvel games are multiplying like Kang variants right now, but you don't see us complaining. As for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it famously dabbled in this period of history with 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. Sadly, it was a short-lived affair before the franchise was catapulted into the present day.
Feeling like a First Avenger sequel, The Rise of Hydra sees Steve Rogers don his Captain America uniform and take on the threat of Hydra alongside Azzuri - the WWII-era Black Panther and T'Challa's grandfather. The other playable characters are the Howling Commandos' Gabriel Jones, and Nanali, a Wakandan spy in Occupied Paris.
Rise of Hydra's story trailer has given us our first look at Rise of Hydra, and with it skipping over gameplay, it seems some of you are confused that it's a video game instead of a movie. When accounts started sharing a leaked scene of Cap and Azzuri facing off, the graphics were so good, many were tricked into thinking it's a movie.
One confused fan wrote, "So we’re getting the hydra movie?," while another added, "I love captain America. What a movie I can't wait." A third said, "Damn! When does this movie I mean game come out." Unfortunately, you'll just have to make do with Captain America: Brave New World for your Marvel movie fix in 2025.
The Marvel Gaming Universe isn't here yet
Click to enlargeDespite complaints that we're getting too many standalone games like Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers, Eidos-Montréal's Guardians of the Galaxy, and Insomniac's Spider-Man titles, it's probably for the best we're not building a Marvel Gaming Universe. Avengers was hardly a hit, so imagine if it pulled Spider-Man down with it.
There are currently no plans for a connected Marvel Gaming Universe (MGU), leaving Rise of Hydra, Motive's Iron Man game, Cliffhanger's Black Panther project, and Arkane's Blade to carve their own legacy. Still, Insomniac looks like it's creating its own mini-universe, with the upcoming Wolverine set in the same continuity as Spider-Man.
Rise of Hydra looks like it's delivering something different, and while it's too early to tell, Skydance could be onto a winner. If the game is a hit when it releases in 2025, we could have a whole series of titles set in this lucrative period that the MCU has left behind. Sadly, we aren't getting a WWII Cap movie with Khary Payton playing Azzuri in live-action...yet.
