Actress Shira Haas has returned to social media to prove she hasn’t let any outside noise detract from her excitement at attending the premiere of her new film Captain America: Brave New World on Tuesday evening.
Several dozen pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside the Los Angeles premiere calling for a boycott of the film over its inclusion of the Israeli superhero character Sabra.
The demonstrators voiced opposition to the character Ruth Bat-Seraph, also known as Sabra, who is portrayed by Israeli actress Haas in the upcoming Marvel film.
The protests occurred during the Hollywood premiere event, where Marvel had planned to host a live stream that was subsequently delayed.
Protesters held signs with messages including “Sabra has got to go,” “Disney supports genocide,” “Boycott ‘Captain America'” and “Pray 4 Princess Jasmine.”
The crowd chanted slogans such as “Free, free, free Palestine” and “Disney, Disney you can’t hide” during the demonstration.
Shira Haas attended the Captain America Brave New World premiere with her co-stars
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The protests appeared to impact the premiere’s planned coverage, as Marvel’s scheduled live stream of the event did not begin as intended at the announced time of 8:30 ET/5:30pm PT.
Instead of the planned premiere coverage, Marvel opted to stream the film’s trailer.
Despite the demonstrations, Haas returned to Instagram after the premiere event concluded to share a simple five-word message with her 419k followers.
Instead of addressing the pro-Palestine protestors directly, Haas simply shared a snap of a billboard featuring the movie along with the caption: “Thank you all. Good night,” followed by praying and love heart emojis.
Shira Haas shared a message of gratitude despite the anti-Israel protests at the premiere
Meanwhile, Marvel previously addressed concerns about the character in a statement to Variety, saying: “While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics, they are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago.”
Producer Nate Moore clarified that Sabra’s role has been significantly altered for the film adaptation.
“She’s Israeli, but she’s not Mossad. Now she works in the US government,” Moore told Variety.
Moore explained the character’s new position: “Ruth works within the government under Ross, so her perspective on that character and Sam’s perspective sort of put them on a collision course. She’s first-generation Israeli, but she works within the U.S. government.”
Sabra first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1980, where the character was originally depicted as a mutant who was sent to live on a kibbutz by the Israeli government after discovering her superpowers in childhood.
In the comic series, she went on to become an agent of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service.
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The film, which stars Anthony Mackie in the lead role alongside Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus Ross, marks a significant departure from this original characterisation.
Captain America: Brave New World features a star-studded ensemble including Danny Ramirez, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler and Tim Blake Nelson.
The film is set to release worldwide on February 14 2025, with early screenings available on Thursday.