Is Falcon and the Winter Soldier Setting Up Debut of Isaiah Bradley's Captain America?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is set to expand in a major way within the next year, as several live-action series set in the franchise are set to debut on Disney+. The first one that will debut is The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, a miniseries that will chronicle the ongoing adventures of Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). Given how both characters' stories were left after the events of Avengers: Endgame - namely, Sam being given the Captain America shield by Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), fans are curious to see where things go next in the miniseries. The latest officially-announced cast member is certainly kicking up that curiosity, as Supergirl and Alias star Carl Lumbly was added to the series' roster. While there's no confirmation of who Lumbly is playing, Deadline suggested in their original reporting of the news that he could be playing Isaiah Bradley, a fan-favorite character who is regarded to be the first Black Captain America.

Isaiah was first introduced in the 2003 miniseries Truth: Red, White, and Black, which dove into the controversial way that the supersoldier serum was officially created. Inspired by the real-life Tuskegee Experiments, Red, White, and Black saw black soldiers being forcibly injected with supersoldier serum, as an attempt to harness the powers that originally created Steve Rogers' Captain America. Isaiah was one of the first men tested within that program, and he reluctantly dons a spare costume and Captain America shield in the fight for justice. In later appearances, Isaiah is inflicted with symptoms similar to Alzheimer's, and Steve Rogers visited him and attempted to reconcile with him about what he endured. Isaiah is also the grandfather of Elijah Bradley, the young man who eventually becomes the Young Avengers member Patriot.

While there's no current confirmation that Isaiah will be in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, or that Lumbly will be the one portraying him, it's hard to deny that it would be an incredibly emotional storyline to cover. That idea is something that Mackie has expressed a desire to see adapted onto the screen in some capacity.

"The best, for me — my favorite timeline of Sam Wilson is the Tuskegee airman experiment timeline," Mackie said in a convention appearance last year. "I think it's very interesting to think they took these soldiers and tried out the serum on them before they injected Cap. It's really, the way it was written is really beautiful and kind of describes America in a very specific way in that period and depicts it truly and honestly."

Do you want to see Isaiah Bradley appear in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is set to arrive in August exclusively on Disney+.