Heads up, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier – starring Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie – is about to become your favourite new show for the next few weeks.
WATCH: Disney’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier | Official Trailer
Earlier this year, Marvel premiered their ambitious lineup of TV series from the Marvel Cinematic Universe with WandaVision, a bizarre multi-genre love letter to the golden age of TV and your favourite sitcoms growing up.
Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, and Kathyrn Hahn, the series parodied I Love Lucy, Full House, Modern Family, and more, before it quickly took the world by cosmic storm, occupying our Disney Plus screens and internet conspiracy theories for weeks. In fact, the show was even streamed more times than Netflix’s beloved period piece, Bridgerton.
And now, Disney and Marvel Studios are dialing back on the witchcraft and bringing us The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, a hilarious action-packed buddy cop comedy that aims to answer: who is worthy to be a hero?
But, what exactly is The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, where does it fit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and who stars in it? Keep reading to find out.
What Is The Falcon And The Winter Soldier?
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is a new Marvel TV series coming to Disney Plus on the 19th of March. It’s part of a series of new TV shows coming to the Disney platform based on Marvel superheroes and as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
What Is The Falcon And The Winter Soldier About?
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier follows Captain America’s two best buds – comically witty para-rescue Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and genetically enhanced super-soldier from World War II, Bucky Barnes – come together to stop a masked militia group and the villain from 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, Helmu Zemo (Daniel Brühl).
Or, as you might better know them in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: the goggle-wearing wing-suit warrior Falcon, and the former mercenary turned vigilante with a gun, Winter Soldier.
While that premise implies that the show is a gun to the walls blockbuster – and it certainly has fantastic epic action moments – The Falcon and The Winter Soldier shows more heart than blood. It’s more than an action-packed buddy cop shooter, it’s about the real-world consequences of the blip – an event in the Marvel films that caused half of the universe’s population to vanish for five years.
Beyond that, it’s about the toll of being a superhero or soldier and the impact that has on your mental health and those around you.
As Sam returns home to see his widowed sister Sarah (Adepero Oduye) and help her get a loan to buy a home, he’s met with the realisation that he doesn’t have any savings from the last five years. Heroes, after all, don’t do what they do for the money; some of them do it out of pure goodwill. Don’t let Tony Stark’s elaborate tech fool you, many of Marvel’s canon superheroes aren’t as rich as the actors behind them.
Then, there’s Bucky, a man who’s 106 years old but looks in his 30s, and has lived out his days as a brainwashed mercenary for Hydra and then gun-for-hire. But after freeing himself from Hydra’s control, Bucky is now trying to undo all the wrongs he’s done, go to therapy, and make amends – even if that means facing his victims’ families.
In another scene, he goes on a date and talks about online dating – a strange moment that reminds us that these superheroes are real people in the Marvel films and that after the events of Avengers: Endgame, they have real-world problems, too.
But, the thing that ties these two characters together and keeps you laughing just as much as you are dramatically drawn in is the chemistry between Mackie and Stan.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Stan recounted the time Mackie helped bring him out of his shy shell during the promo tour for Captain America: Winter Soldier in 2014.
“They were worried that I didn’t talk a lot. I get very uncomfortable,” Stan said. “They’re like, ‘Just put him in with Anthony, okay? They’re going to talk.’ And I was talking! By the end, I was very lively, and it really is thanks to him.”
Who Stars In The Falcon And The Winter Soldier?
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie (Altered Carbon) and Sebastian Stan (Gossip Girl) as the show’s titular characters, Sam ‘Falcon’ Wilson and Bucky ‘Winter Soldier.’
The series also stars Daniel Brühl (The Alienist) as villain Helmu Zemo, Emily VanCamp (Revenge) as Agent 13, better known as Sharon Carter, and Wyatt Russell (22 Jump Street, Black Mirror) as John Walker.
When Is The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Set?
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is set six months after the events of Avengers: Endgame. For comparison, WandaVision and Spider-Man: Far From Home were set directly after Endgame.
Where Does The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Fit In The MCU Timeline?
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, like WandaVision and Spider-Man: Far From Home, is set after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
The show, starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, is supposed to follow the events of Black Widow – Scarlet Johansson’s solo film. It’s unclear how heavily it will, however, given that Black Widow has been delayed till after The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
WandaVision meanwhile will directly lead into Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness and the third Spider-Man film.
Who Is The New Captain America?
As of right now, it’s unclear who will don the star-spangled shield and spandex and take over as Captain America from Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). In the comics, both Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) take on the role at some point with Sam often seen as the second generation of Captain America.
At the end of the first episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, the U.S. government reveals they’ve found a new Captain America but it’s not Sam Wilson or Bucky Barnes. Potentially, it may be Helmu Zemo (Daniel Brühl).
With the new Disney show following the pair’s adventure after Steve dies, we’ll likely find out who will be the next Captain America at the end of the series.
Will There Be A The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Season 2?
While we may not be getting a WandaVision season 2, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said he expects to see The Falcon and The Winter Soldier go beyond one season.
“If we’re able to do another one, there’s certainly ideas,” Feige said in a recent press conference, per Deadline.
Catch The Falcon and The Winter Soldier on Disney Plus.
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