Avengers: Endgame Director Explains Why Bucky Doesn’t Get Shield

Avengers: Endgame wrapped up a lot of things for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only did it resolve Avengers: Infinity War with the heroes pulling off the impossible and bringing back those vanished with Thanos’ snap but it also saw the torch passed to the heroes that will take the MCU forward into new stories and adventures. Specifically, Captain America passed his shield and mantle to Sam Wilson — not Bucky Barnes as many fans had hoped. Now, director Joe Russo explains why.

During An Evening with Joe Russo, a live Q&A hosted by ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis from Russo’s Los Angeles-based restaurant Duello, Russo explained that Cap passed the shield and mantle to Sam partly because Bucky is still dealing with his mind having been corrupted while Sam is, in a sense, a lot like Cap himself.

“Cap and Bucky are brothers but you know what’s interesting about them is they’re very different people and I think that Bucky always has the ability to have his mind corrupted, it can always be taken over by someone else,” Russo said. “That hasn’t been resolved for him and Sam has his free will and I think that Sam also had a similar ethic as Cap as far as service goes in the military.“

“Sam still retains that spirit of service to the community and he lives in that circle very clearly in the movies,” Russo continued. “Comic books and movies are very different and our interpretation of the characters if you’ve been following the movies are very different from what the books are so as it stands in these films, Bucky is still a damaged character who I think feels like he doesn’t want the shield and I think that ultimately Sam is a character with free will who is the closest in morality to what Cap was and Cap believes he deserves it.”

With Bucky seemingly in support of Sam taking up the mantle of Captain America, it’s something that may make the next time we see the characters even more interesting. While it’s yet to be confirmed if Sam will be embracing the role of Captain America, both Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan are set to reprise their Sam and Bucky roles for a television series on the Disney+ streaming service.

What do you think about the decision to make Sam the new Captain America? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now.