In just a few short days, Marvel Studios will bring its second full project on Disney+ with the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiering on March 19. The press tour for this highly anticipated series has been going non-stop for the past couple of weeks, with the cast and crew giving little teases and clues as to what fans can expect to see.
Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan will bring back longstanding characters Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes as they navigate a new world that's fully experienced The Blip , with new villains and threats standing in their way . Additionally, they're still trying to navigate how to be the best Avengers they can now that Chris Evans' Steve Rogers is seemingly retired, although his true status is still unconfirmed.
Thankfully, that mystery will seemingly be touched on in this new story.
THE STATUS OF STEVE ROGERS IN PHASE 4
In the recent Empire magazine release, via @jamesbcuhqnan , Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige touched on if The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+ will address the status of Chris Evans' elder Steve Rogers in the MCU. Feige does admit that this will happen “in a roundabout way,” pointing out that Cap still being alive is a “fair presumption” but “not necessarily the case.”
Feige also pointed out how moving it is that this show focuses on “two best friends of a mutual friend who’s not there anymore." He indicated that Sam and Bucky have “gone their separate ways” now that they don’t have a true relationship with each other without Cap in the picture:
“There’s something very poignant about the two best friends of a mutual friend who’s not there anymore. Do they really have a relationship without Steve? Initially, nothing is (keeping them together). They’ve gone their separate ways."
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CAPTAIN AMERICA?
Chris Evans' Captain America had an impressive run throughout the Infinity Saga, making appearances in ten of the first 23 movies in the franchise to date. His time in the story seemingly ended when he passed the Captain America shield and mantle to Sam Wilson at the end of 2019's Avengers: Endgame , but nothing has been set in stone about where the 106-year-old veteran is at this moment.
It will be interesting to find out more details on what Captain America's current whereabouts are when The Falcon and the Winter Soldier debuts, especially since there's no definitive way to say whether he's still alive or not at his age. Considering that both Sam and Bucky have such a deep connection to the First Avenger, it makes sense that he will be a topic of discussion during the show's plot.
As for Sam and Bucky's relationship with each other, fans are already looking forward to seeing them develop their friendship further, although they seem to only consider themselves co-workers for the time being.
Through both of their stories in the MCU to date, the two have always been at Captain America's side (the only exception being Captain America: The Winter Solider for Bucky ). Although they were both with Steve when he dubbed Sam as Captain America, the assumption is that they haven't seen each other since that moment, possibly not even having talked to each other at all.
No matter how the specifics turn out, this friendship will be a key plot point for the superhero action that is set to arrive. All of this and more will come when The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres on March 19, 2021.
