Sebastian Stan has had quite a career with Marvel Studios. His first appearance was all the way back in Captain America: The First Avenger, and his latest was in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier—not including his voice work in What If...?. Starting as a friend to Chris Evan's famous hero, he then turns into a brain-washed villain, to a lost stranger, back to a close ally in the last two Avengers films. Now the character has co-starred in his own show, sharing the spotlight with Anthony Mackie's Captain America.
Bucky Barnes has no doubt been through a lot. He's had a rough go of it, given his many decades under HYDRA's control; it feels like some of his most significant contributions to the MCU have been as a villain. He was the lead antagonist in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and went on to be the catalyst to breaking the Avengers apart, which led to them subsequently losing in Infinity War.
He was eventually freed of those uncontrollable evil tendencies thanks to the technology in Wakanda. His time there was glimpsed in the recent Disney+ show, but it was first seen during the first Black Panther film.
Now the star has confirmed how he got the news that he was going to enter the world of Wakanda.
Sebastian Stan Handed Black Panther Role
During an interview with Esquire, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier star Sebastian Stan confirmed the crazy way he was cast for Black Panther's post-credits sequence.
The segment started with a title card that read:
"Sebastian learned he was going to be in Black Panther while standing at baggage claim with [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige after a flight, where Feige offhandedly mentioned it."
This story was first mentioned by the actor back during press for Avengers: Infinity War, but Stan went on to say how it is "completely true" and that "it's always been off-handed" with Feige:
"Completely true. I think it was on the set of Captain America: Civil War, and he goes, 'Oh yeah, by the way, we're gonna have you come in early next week. You're gonna do the scene with Ryan Coogler'. It's always been like that, by the way. It's always been off-handed. Even getting the role back in the day was sort of off-handed."
To More Sebastian Stan in the MCU
After his brief appearance in Black Panther, no further scenes were revealed to give more information about Barnes' sabbatical in Wakanda. What exactly did he do there, and what was his standing with the city and its people?
This was briefly explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as Bucky runs into Ayo during the whole Zemo fiasco. Fans also got a brief glimpse into his rehabilitation, something viewers would undoubtedly love to see explored even more.
Barnes being freed of his HYDRA control has mostly been breezed over, with every story that Barnes features in focusing on elsewhere. Hopefully, in the future, Marvel can give his stay there some more attention to help inform who Bucky became and his growth down the line.
Rumor has it that Marvel Studios is working on a Wakanda show which is set to be about the city itself and the people within it. Maybe one of its episodes could cameo Sebastian Stan's hero and give him an entire installment focusing on his interactions and experience within its confines.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is now streaming on Disney+.
