Falcon And Winter Soldier Creator Clears Up A Big Question About Bucky
With "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" wrapped up for now, fans are looking forward to what's coming next from Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Episode 6 ("One World, One People") saw Sam officially take on the mantle of Captain America, accepting the shield made famous by his pal Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) so many years ago. When the episode concluded, Marvel Studios confirmed Sam's new role by changing the wording on the end title card to "Captain America and the Winter Soldier."
This was a great nod to Mackie's character, who was long expected to become Captain America after the events of "Avengers: Endgame." While an older Steve passed off his shield to his friend, he never fully accepted the title. "Captain America 4" has also been confirmed, and it should put Mackie front and center, but that's not official yet.
While we have a clear idea of where Sam is going, Bucky's future is unknown. The end title card didn't change his Winter Solider moniker to anything else, and it's something that stuck with fans. The "FaWS" creator is now speaking up about the big question surrounding Bucky, which can put viewers' thoughts at ease.
Bucky is officially no longer the Winter Soldier
During "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," we saw that Bucky Barnes was free from his former prison when Ayo (Florence Kasumba) recited his trigger words to no effect. Once Bucky began to cry, it was clear he was no longer the Winter Soldier, but he still possessed all his skills from his time as the assassin. We also saw him referred to as the White Wolf (no, not that one) twice in the series, after being referred to as the nickname in the end credits of "Black Panther." Fans took to Twitter to express frustration over the end-title card of "FaWS," saying it should have said "Captain America and the White Wolf."
Keeping the "Winter Soldier" title suggests that Bucky still is the character, but show creator Malcolm Spellman has confirmed that's not the case. "I hope people will forget that end title card as being an indicator of a commitment from Marvel," Spellman admitted to ComicBook.com. "I think he has slayed that dragon, personally, and I don't think I'll be in trouble for that."
We're not sure if we'll see Bucky again in the MCU. However, without news of his retirement, Sebastian Stan will likely grace our screens again, hopefully as the White Wolf next time. The second season of "FaWS" is still just a rumor at this point, and whether Stan will return to his role in "Captain America 4" remains to be seen. One thing we do know is that The Winter Soldier is officially retired.