For Anthony Mackie, acting began long before the Marvel spotlight, with theater giving him an early education in how to own a room from the stage. His last Broadway appearance came in 2010, when he starred in Martin McDonagh’s A Behanding in Spokane. Sixteen years later, that part of Mackie’s career is ready for a new chapter.

Mackie has never really left those theater roots behind, even as Hollywood turned him into one of the MCU’s leading stars. Now, the actor is heading back to Broadway for a role that carries the kind of weight few performers get the chance to take on.

Anthony Mackie is taking on Shakespeare’s Macbeth

The comeback is now official, and Deadline reported exclusively that Mackie will play Macbeth on Broadway beginning in spring 2027. The Juilliard-trained actor will take on Shakespeare’s tragic Scottish general in the New York transfer of director Max Webster’s acclaimed production. 

“The microphones and the sound aspect of it is interesting because you in the audience can hear everything, you can hear every whisper, you can feel every emotion,” Mackie explains.

It originally ran at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 2023 with David Tennant and Cush Jumbo as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth before transferring to the West End for an 11-week sold-out run. For Mackie, the role marks a particularly significant challenge because Macbeth is not simply another iconic character to add to his résumé. He is a celebrated military figure whose ambition gradually turns into paranoia, violence and a desperate obsession with holding power.

Deadline also reported that Mackie is stepping into a production known for making Shakespeare feel unusually intimate through its sound design. Webster’s staging features a binaural system created by Tony and Olivier Award-winning audio designer Gareth Fry, with performers speaking into microphones while audience members wear headphones. 

The Shakespearean challenge is only one part of Mackie’s already crowded acting calendar. His return to Broadway arrives as the actor continues to carry the weight of Captain America, a role that has transformed his career from respected stage and character actor into one of Marvel’s leading faces.

Anthony Mackie has more Marvel work waiting after Macbeth

There is another act waiting after the curtain falls on Shakespeare. Anthony Mackie will eventually leave Macbeth behind and return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His next stop is Avengers: Secret Wars, where his duties as Captain America will be waiting.

Mackie confirmed that the Marvel work will follow his Broadway run. Before that, he will have the chance to inhabit one of Shakespeare’s most demanding roles, playing a once loyal and brave general whose ambition pushes him toward murder and tyranny. For an actor who started as a theater kid and eventually became Captain America, the journey back to Broadway carries its own dramatic symmetry. 

Mackie is not simply returning to the stage after 16 years. He is stepping into one of the great roles of the theatrical canon before heading back to the superhero world. 

What do you think of Anthony Mackie taking on Macbeth? Share your thoughts in the comments.