The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will focus on the past of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and his identity as a Black superhero, according to Kevin Feige. In an interview for Variety ahead of the new Marvel Disney+ show's premiere, Feige talked about what fans can expect to learn about the past of Sam, one of its lead characters, and how it will all fit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
The trailers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier show us that the series will focus on the transition of the mantle of Captain America, after Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) retired in Endgame, leaving his shield to Sam. Instead of only focusing on the present conflicts, Feige tells us that the series is also a good opportunity to explore more about the two title characters, especially Sam Wilson. Since the history of Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) was a central plot point in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (in addition to his introduction in Captain America: The First Avenger), it's necessary to share more of Sam's history to even the playing field.
As Feige pointed out to Variety, "We’ve seen quite a bit of Bucky’s back story over the years, the horrors he went through. Sam Wilson, where did he come from and what is his backstory? What does that mean, especially in a post-Blip world, and what is he going to do with that shield?"
Feige also touched on the importance of giving Sam a backstory because of his role in the MCU and the importance of his presence in this world as a Black superhero. The Marvel head explained,
"He’s a man, and he’s an African American man. He’s got experience in the military, he’s got experience doing grief counseling with soldiers with PTSD. That’s how Steve Rogers initially developed this friendship with him. What’s so great about the move to Disney Plus long form is that we get to see much more of these characters. Mackie has this amazing presence, whether he’s on screen for six seconds or six hours. In 'Endgame,' it was closer to six seconds. All along we’ve been asking, 'Where did he grow up? Who is his family?'"
Feige concluded, "We want to know more about this guy being thrown into this situation and handling it spectacularly well considering he’s just a man. That’s what the show is about. This man, this Black man in particular, in the Marvel version of the world outside our window."
This is a great opportunity to flesh out a character that, unfortunately, never had the proper space inside the MCU, just as WandaVision allowed us to know a lot more about Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and The Vision (Paul Bettany). By focusing on Sam’s past, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier also opens up the MCU to exploring more what it means to be a Black superhero, especially when the title of Captain America is at stake.
It took too long for Marvel to give their Black superheroes their deserved attention on the MCU; it's something that only really happened in 2018 with the release of Black Panther. With the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman depriving us of such a huge icon, it is good to know that Marvel intends to keep alive the promise of a more diverse and more culturally rich superhero universe. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will have six one-hour long episodes, which means enough screen time to deal with all these questions in the way they deserve to be dealt with. As soon as the first episode is released, we’ll know exactly how much Marvel is willing to embrace the richness of their cast and history.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres on Disney+ on March 19.