‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’: Everything you need to know

Whether or not you think that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) ending in Avengers: Endgame was total b.s. (it was and Sebastian Stan agrees), it was still awesome to see Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) be handed the shield and give the mantle as Captain America. We are here for it. 

That doesn’t mean that the road to becoming the new Captain America will run smoothly. The first MCU series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will see Sam and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) have to work together in a post-Steve Rogers world. 

As this is the first series, we have the most info on it. Though details are still relatively scarce because of Marvel’s next level secrecy. Here’s everything we know about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Here’s who’s involved

Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan will reprise their roles as Sam Wilson/Falcon/Captain America(?) and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier/White Wolf respectively. We put a question mark next to Mackie’s character names because he still uses the Falcon moniker in the series rather than the Cap name. 

Part of the reason that the series happened was due to Mackie and Stan’s legendary off-screen chemistry (put those two together and hilarity happens) along with fan’s love of Bucky and Sam’s interactions on screen.

Also returning to the MCU is Daniel Bruhl as Baron Helmut Zemo, who was the bad guy in Captain America: Civil War. The former Sokovian Special Forces operator took revenge against the Avengers by dividing them with a well-placed plan and Steve’s weakness for his brainwashed best friend. And it worked. Zemo will return in the series and don his famous comic accurate purple mask.

Emily VanCamp will also return as Sharon Carter/Agent 13, a former SHIELD agent and niece of Peggy Carter. VanCamp was last seen in Captain America: Civil War where she was working for the CIA until she helped out Steve (and the two shared a kiss). According to VanCamp, Sharon has since been on the run following the events of Civil War. (We’re assuming she survived the Blip originally then? Damn that’s a long time to be on the run.) 

New to the franchise is Wyatt Russell (Overlord) who will play the MCU’s version of John Walker also known as U.S. Agent. He’s described as “a militaristic successor to Captain America created by the US government.” Oh, that’ll go over well. Fun fact! He’s the son of Kurt Russell, who played Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Goldie Hawn. 

Adepero Oduye (Pariah), Desmond Chiam (The Shannara Chronicles), Miki Ishikawa (The Terror), and Noah Mills (The Enemy Within) have also joined the cast in undisclosed roles.

Malcolm Spellman (Empire) will act as showrunner and EP for the series, which did have a writer’s room like WandaVision. Kari Skogland (The Handmaid’s Tale) serves as the director of the series. 

What’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier about?

Given that this is a Marvel production, you’ll probably have an easier time getting into Fort Knox than breaking through that wall of secrecy. Basically, it will see Sam and Bucky deal with the fallout following Avengers: Endgame and Steve passing the mantle to Sam Wilson.

As Skogland told TV Guide, “After Endgame, you can imagine they have to go on a big journey to figure out the next steps for both of them. So their relationship will be fun to watch, [as well as] troubled. They’re going to go on a wild ride together.”

Also said to be explored in the series will also explore the MCU reaction to a black man being given the mantle of Captain America. Derek Kostald, one of the writers on the series, did not elaborate much on it, but just said that it would be explored. 

A newly released synopsis for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier read, “Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities — and their patience — in Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. The all-new series is directed by Kari Skogland; Malcolm Spellman is the head writer. Debuts on Disney+ this fall.”

Honestly, it’s the “and their patience” line that gets us because it does hint at some of the humor that fans were hoping to see in the series. The tone for the series has been described as Lethal Weapon meets superheroes, so that should give you a good idea of what’s going on there. 

Other films that were referenced included Bad Boys, 48 Hrs., and Beverly Hills Cop. 

Will Steve Rogers make an appearance? 

We have a feeling if Evans will appear as Old Man Steve Rogers, then that’s going to be something kept very under wraps. Even if he won’t physically be on screen, the spectre of Steve Rogers will definitely hang over Sam and Bucky.

Skogland confirmed that “He was their best friend, so you can imagine that is something they have to mourn over.” 

When will The Falcon and the Winter Soldier be released?

The timeline for these shows has gone a little bit wonky. We do know that The Falcon and Winter Soldier will be released first. The Falcon and Winter Soldier will be released in August 2020.

Like all Disney+ series, episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be released weekly. There will be six glorious episodes to look forward to. 

Also, we don’t know if a second season of the series will happen. It’s currently being touted as a miniseries, but that doesn’t mean all that much. If the series is popular, then we definitely think more of it could happen.