Marvel Studios is currently reaping the rewards of a successful start to its new venture of Disney+ storytelling. Hype is building by the day as WandaVision draws closer to its season finale, and after a March 12 behind-the-scenes intermission with Assembled on Disney+, the story will pick back up with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
This show will be set in a post-Avengers: Endgame world recovering from The Blip as Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes do their best to continue the Captain America legacy.
Standing in their way will be some new foes in the Flag Smashers, taken straight from the pages of Marvel Comics, as well as Daniel Brühl’s Helmut Zemo returning after Captain America: Civil War.
According to some of the top names bringing this show to life, this will be a Zemo with new life and no plans to tamper his evil plans.
ZEMO TAKING HIS VILLAINY TO NEW LEVELS
In the Spring 2021 issue of Disney’s D23 Magazine obtained by The Direct, the cast and crew of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier take a look at the evolution of Daniel Brühl’s Helmut Zemo in the Disney+ series.
Head writer Kari Skogland reveals her excitement to work with the character with the fact that the story “left him in a very dark place.” This new chapter of his story will, according to Skogland, show Zemo as “much more complex than we originally knew”:
“He's very exciting to bring back because we've left him in a very dark place. And it's interesting to go with him on this journey. What was fun about working with Daniel and all three of them is that we go on a very unexpected ride and we discover things about Baron Zemo we didnt anticipate. As a result, we feel satisfied that the character is much more complex than we originally knew."
Falcon actor Anthony Mackie goes on to tease exactly how much darker Zemo will be than in his first appearance. Although Mackie describes him as “trying to fit in,” he hints that the villain “goes real bad real quick” as well.:
"After The Blip, the big thing now is: 'How do we all fit in?' Zemo is back and trying to fit in. And Zemo goes real bad real quick, so that's a problem."
Mackie’ co-star, Sebastian Stan, teases Bucky Barnes’ personal beef with Zemo on top of the overarching plot. In a sense, as Stan describes it, the both “have a bone to pick,” and it may not be just with each other.:
“Both Bucky and Zemo still have a bone to pick-certainly with each other, but maybe also with the world. So, his very inclusion was inevitable, in my opinion.”
MARVEL' DISNEY+ SHOWS BECOMING LAYERED WITH DRAMA
The common theme from all three quotes is abundantly clear: Zemo is back, and all hell is about to break loose.
The last fans saw of Daniel Brühl’s villain was Black Panther taking him into custody and speaking with Everett Ross after he incited the battles in Captain America: Civil War. With the MCU world completely turned upside down after half of all life disappeared and returned, the former Sokovian intelligence agent appears laser-focused on completing his work.
The Super Bowl trailer from early February 2021 teased more of Zemo’s ruthlessness as he bombed a shipping yard while donning the comic accurate mask that has eluded him for five years. While it’s unclear what his intentions or goals are, he literally uttered the phrase “I have no intention to leave my work unfinished.” This is a villain on a mission.
The way Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan talk about Zemo’s return, fans should be in for something special when Daniel Brühl embodies this series’ antagonist for his second MCU project. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will premiere on Disney+ on March 19, 2021.
