Next Halloween, some Brooklyn kid will be in for the surprise of his life. The trick-or-treating youngster will be dressed as the Falcon, the new superhero from Friday’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” He will knock on a particular door, and Anthony Mackie — who actually plays the Falcon — will open it. And Mackie will also be dressed as the Falcon.
“I can’t wait for a kid to come to the door,” Mackie tells The Post. “The kid will say, ‘I’m the Falcon.’ And I’ll say, ‘No, kid, I’m the Falcon.’ ”
The character is drawing buzz as the major new addition to the Marvel cinematic universe, teaming with Cap (Chris Evans) and superspy Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) to foil a conspiracy to take over the intelligence organization S.H.I.E.L.D. The hero is set to swoop into future Marvel movies as well.
Comics readers are already familiar with the airborne hero, who was created in 1969 and co-headlined the “Captain America” title through much of the 1970s. The character has gone through numerous iterations, including one who talks to birds and another who was a Harlem pimp. (Spoiler alert: Neither of those made the film. He’s simply an ex-soldier trained to use a jet pack and wing combo that allows him to zip through the air like a fighter plane.)
“The Falcon is one of, if not the most, significant relationship Cap has had in the stories,” says Christopher Markus, who wrote “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” with Stephen McFeely. “He’s the closest thing to a boots-on-the-ground friend Cap has.”
Mackie, 35, had been lobbying the studio for years, and was elated when he was tapped to play the Falcon — with one reservation.
“My biggest thing when I first saw the wings on the character was, ‘Don’t make me look stupid.’ Because this could go to cheesy really quickly,” Mackie recalls.
The actor says he was willing to don the red-and-white spandex outfit the comics character is known for, but the design team ditched the brightly colored get-up for a black, military-inspired suit. For the flying, Mackie was strung up in front of a green screen on a four-point harness system. Riggers could then lift him up or down, or swing him at great speeds. Sticking the landing often proved challenging.
“We could have easily cut this movie into a comedy, as many times as I bit it or knocked Chris over,” Mackie says. “There was one where they pulled me up 100 feet and let me go, and I was supposed to land next to Chris and continue a conversation. So they pulled me up . . . midway through, I’m like, ‘I’m gonna die.’ I just tackled [Chris] on the landing. After that he said, ‘I’m not standing anywhere near the Falcon when he’s landing.’ ”
Wipeouts notwithstanding, Mackie says he’s proud to play the hero because the Falcon was among the first black superheroes.
“I was so emotional when I got this role because I realized that all these little kids are gonna have what I didn’t have when I was a kid,” the actor says. “When I was a kid, there weren’t any mainstream black heroes. It wasn’t like, ‘Who are you for Halloween?’ ‘Oh, I’m Shaft.’ ”
Mackie grew up in Louisiana but moved to New York to attend Juilliard in the late ’90s. The actor, who has a young son with fiancée Sheletta Chapital, broke through with small but strong roles in movies like “Million Dollar Baby” and “The Hurt Locker.” When he’s not acting, Mackie occasionally pops into his Bed-Stuy watering hole, NoBar BKNY.
From now on, the drinks should be on him. “The Winter Soldier” appears to be just the beginning of the Falcon’s career, as the movie ends with several loose threads that the writers say will most likely be tied up in “Captain America 3,” which is currently being written and slated to hit theaters May 2016.