No one wants to admit that Steve Rogers is irreplaceable. Fifteen years ago, Chris Evans felt like an odd choice to play yet another superhero, let alone a hero as stalwart and true as Captain America. Against all odds, though, he managed to make the character his own — to the point where now, five years after Steve’s retirement in Avengers: Endgame, Cap fans within and outside of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe are still struggling to accept his departure.

It doesn’t help that Steve’s successor, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), has never truly gotten a fair shake. The hero formerly known as the Falcon was always a strong complement to Cap: a great leader in his own right, with a will and sense of humor all his own. It made total sense when Steve passed the shield on to him — though, if we’re being real, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) might have been a more logical choice.

Sam’s appointment was intriguing, but it felt more like Marvel’s way of making A Statement™ about what it meant to be Black in America, rather than a natural progression for the character. And though The Falcon and the Winter Soldier made attempts to explore that paradox in a meaningful way, clumsy political storylines undermined Sam’s arc at every turn. The burden of being Captain America seemed to strip him of anything that made him interesting — and years later, it’s cast a pall over his first solo outing.

With Captain America: Brave New World, Sam Wilson has another chance to make the mantle his own. But he also, essentially, has to save the MCU from itself, reconciling years of forgotten storylines. That responsibility puts our hero on the back foot in a major way: not only is Sam still struggling to fill Steve’s shoes, but he now has to compensate for the absence of Bruce Banner.

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Who could have predicted that Paddington Bear would have become one of the most beloved cinematic icons of the 21st century? In the 11 years since the marmalade-obsessed bear first entered our hearts with 2014’s Paddington, he’s become a fixture of the most acclaimed family franchise of our time, thanks to the magical touch of director Paul King.

Through the first two Paddington films, King elevated the wholesome talking bear into a Buster Keaton-like folk figure whose innate sense of whimsy and kindness could reform even the most uptight grump. Which made King’s departure from the franchise, to direct the very Paddington-like Wonka, so concerning. Could the third and final Paddington film do justice to our beloved bear, especially after the terrific Paddington 2 brought the franchise to stratospheric new heights? The answer is both yes and no. But even the weakest Paddington movie will make for the most joyful and delightful film you’ll see this year.