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A guide to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, with updated details on Marvel's newest TV team
After Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers chose to finally have that dance with Peggy Carter he'd been waiting for since the mid-1940s. This choice left the world without someone to "wield the shield," so Steve passed it on to Sam Wilson, the Falcon.
Thanks to Disney+, fans will get a chance to see how Sam reacts to this new responsibility. And luckily for him, he won't be alone on this journey. Bucky Barnes is along for the ride in Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Just as we are doing with Loki, here's a rundown of what we know.
THE BASICS
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will premiere in the fall of 2020, with six episodes. The cast will include Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/The Falcon), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier), Emily VanCamp (Sharon Carter), Wyatt Russell (John Walker), and Daniel Bruhl (Helmut/Baron Zemo).
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
With Endgame's conclusion, one would think the story would revolve around Sam becoming the new Captain America. Fans even speculated the title of the show would eventually be changed to reflect this passing of the torch (making the potential new title "Captain America and the Winter Soldier").
According to Mackie, this role change may not happen. As reported by Digital Spy, Mackie talked about it at this year's D23 Expo in Anaheim, saying: "I'm not Captain America. Just because he told me to hold his shield, he didn't say, 'You're Captain America now.' He's like, 'I'm going to go back and see my girl, call me if something happens. I don't want to carry this dumb shield.'"
Hopefully, that's a direct quote. But even if Falcon doesn't become Captain America, holding the shield is still a big responsibility for Sam.
As far as Bucky goes, Stan feels it's time his character finally experiences some normalcy in his otherwise crazy life. Comicbookmovie.com reports Stan talked about this during a convention in Italy. "I think it's time for Bucky to go out there and have an identity outside of the circumstances that we've met him through," he said. "[Bucky] might do all kinds of things. He might even go on a date. [It's a] scary world out there, you know? Apps, things like that. I don't know what he's going to do. I can't see him on an iPhone. I think it's going to be a lot of dealing with Anthony's character and Anthony himself, which is always another character."
For the record: We would be perfectly fine if the series were six episodes of Sam and Bucky trying to "outburn" one another.
DEVELOPMENT
Empire's Malcolm Spellman will act as head writer and showrunner for the new series. Joining him will be writer Derek Kolstad (the John Wick franchise).
So, to reiterate, the creator of John Wick will be writing action sequences for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which fans get to see play out on screen.
We'll pause so this news can set in. Okay? Good.
As far as directing duties go, all six episodes will be under the guidance of Kari Skogland, whose credits include The Handmaid's Tale, The Punisher, and The Walking Dead. Kevin Feige will serve as an executive producer.
IGN reported that the series would start filming in October, and ScreenRant confirmed this. During his panel at the Fandemic Tour in Houston, Texas, a fan asked Stan a question regarding the show, and he responded that he would find out "tomorrow" (October 21). We're hopeful we'll get a few first-look shots within the coming weeks.
Updates
November 4:
Marvel.com has reported that filming has officially begun on the series, with Mackie and Stan announcing it on Marvel's Instagram account. You can view the Instagram Story here.
November 12:
One of the many cool things Marvel had as part of the Disney+ launch was a 12-minute mini-documentary on the shows appearing on the service, called Expanding the Universe. As part of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier section, they released some promo art of the main characters.
Here's Sam in a new Falcon uniform. It's his most comic-accurate costume to date. Please take special notice. His costume is not a Captain America costume. This new suit may also be a tease for the series plot, with Sam coming to terms with his new responsibility as the wielder of the shield.
He is no longer a sleeper agent for Hydra, on the run from the world's governments, helping defeat Thanos, or dead. It's finally time for a shave and a haircut for Mr. Barnes.
Emily VanCamp returns as Sharon Carter. It's about time we get to see Agent 13 kick some butt.
A one-time mentally unstable replacement for Steve Rogers as Captain America, John Walker eventually became the U.S. Agent.
First seen during the Marvel Panel at San Diego Comic-Con, here is a much better look at Daniel Bruhl's Baron Zemo in costume!
November 17
Anthony Mackie recently spoke with Deadline about the responsibilities in taking responsibility for the shield.
January 8
On the January 4 edition of Marvel's Earth's Mightiest Show, Marvel revealed a hi-def version of the show's poster.
January 17
Sebastian Stan posted the first production still on his Instagram page, showing Bucky (haircut and all) walking through an abandoned warehouse. Well, it's probably not abandoned. The pic definitely implies the Winter Soldier is about to get into a fight.
February 2
During this year's Super Bowl, Disney released a trailer focusing on all three Marvel Disney+ shows. Check it out below for your first look at The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
February 4
Marvel announced August as the official release month for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
February 18
Reported by Deadline, Carl Lumbly (Supergirl, Justice League animated series) has been added to the cast in an undisclosed role.
February 25
In an interview with Brandon Davis from ComicBook.Com, Mackie discussed the rigors of stunt work and what it was like throwing Cap's legendary shield.
March 9
In an interview with Extra promoting his upcoming moving Banker, Mackie states he hopes Samuel L. Jackson will make an appearance as Nick Fury. "I hope so, I heard Falcon becomes Sam Jackson," he said. "That's what I heard, so that's what I'm hoping for. We ain't finished shooting yet, so I hope he just shows up one day and blesses us with his presence."
April 24
Sebastian Stan was interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter and discussed the tone of the series. He also addressed the "controversy" Sam receiving Cap's shield over Bucky.
Regarding the tone:
"What I loved about it was that, tonally, it was very much in the same world that Captain America: The Winter Soldier was, which was one of my favorite experiences that I’ve ever had, period. So, in a sense, it was grounded and very much in the world as we know it. But, it’s also really jam-packed with a lot of massive, massive action scenes mixed with deep focus on character. That’s what’s really exciting about this. We’re getting to keep it in the world of the movies, so it’s recognizable that way, but at the same time, these characters are getting so much more mileage for all of us to explore them. We can put them in situations that we’ve never been able to put them in before because you now have six hours as opposed to two. It’s always a discovery."
Regarding the shield:
"The MCU — as I saw it from my humble perspective — is a bit different in that regard to the comics. Where we arrived with him at the end felt more like he was in a place with a desire for some sort of release: to start over, start life again in a way, find out who he is again on his own and leave all this behind. Yes, it all happened, but at some point, you gotta own your mistakes, what happened and try to start over. That’s where I felt like the character was at the end of Avengers: Endgame. It’s also what he wanted for Steve. Like anybody that ends up traumatized by a war experience, he was affected by it for the rest of his life. So, what felt like a desire there was for a restart — for him and for Steve in a way. It didn’t necessarily feel like the shield was gonna be that. Steve going back in time and saying, 'I’m gonna take something for me now. I’ve been here for all these guys, and I’ve done the best I could. I’m just a man, and I’m going to go back and try to live my life.' I feel that is something that Bucky would want for his best friend, and at the same time, Steve is saying to Bucky, 'You’re going to go and do that, too. I’m not going to put this thing on you. We’re both going to live our lives — the lives that were actually taken from us back in the ‘40s when we enlisted.' So, that’s where I felt they were at the end of the movie. I don’t think there’s a desire or any conflicted thoughts about taking on that mantle. Sam, to me, was always the clear man to take on that mantle for numerous reasons, which also comes with so much more baggage that’s going to be explored in the show. I guess you’ll have to tune into Disney+ to find out why. (Laughs.) At the end of Endgame, for either Steve or Bucky, it’s really not about the shield."
July 19
The Verge has reported the original August release date for the series has been delayed. The studio hopes to give an updated release soon. Production shut down this past May as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resuming of production on the series will depend on when it is safe for people to return to work.
SPECULATION
With Daniel Bruhl returning as Baron Zemo, fans are predicting there will be a lot of unfinished business between him and Winter Soldier. Thanks to Shuri, Bucky is no longer at the mercy of Hydra's programming. You would think this would be a cause of concern for the villain, but as Bruhl's Instagram post from this July showed, he's not the same man who appeared in Captain America: Civil War.
Yep. Even though it is a tad blurry, it's pretty apparent Zemo is wearing a purple mask, mirroring his comic book counterpart. The reveal also led to some speculation, as in this Hollywood Reporter piece, that the show will introduce Zemo's team of "reformed" super-villains, the Thunderbolts.
Carl Lumbly's addition to the cast adds a distinct superhero pedigree. He's played J'onn J'onzz in animation, and the Manhunter's father in live action. Speculation is that Lumbly will be portraying Isaiah Bradley, the Captain America portrayed in the comic book series Truth: Red, White, and Black. Bradley is the grandfather of Elijah Bradley, the Patriot. This brings fans one step closer to seeing the Young Avengers in the MCU.
While there's not a lot announced as of yet, be sure to keep your eyes right here on SYFY WIRE for all your The Falcon and the Winter Soldier news.
