Falcon and the Winter Soldier Star Sebastian Stan Says Cap's Shield Comes With a Lot of Baggage in the Disney+ Show

Sebastian Stan says that Captain America's shield comes with a lot of baggage on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The Disney+ star talked to The Hollywood Reporter about his upcoming tag-team act with Anthony Mackie. Much was made of the shield's handoff in Avengers: Endgame. The Falcon now bears the awesome power of the fabled weapon, but he also has to carry everything else that being Captain America stands for too. Mackie has been very vocal about that experience in interviews. A lot of people expected the Winter Soldier actor to be the one holding the shield when the dust settled, but it just wasn't to be. And it was fine by Bucky that things went the way they did.

"The MCU — as I saw it from my humble perspective — is a bit different in that regard to the comics," Stan began. "Where we arrived with him at the end felt more like he was in a place with a desire for some sort of release: to start over, start life again in a way, find out who he is again on his own and leave all this behind. Yes, it all happened, but at some point, you gotta own your mistakes, what happened and try to start over. That's where I felt like the character was at the end of Avengers: Endgame. It's also what he wanted for Steve. Like anybody that ends up traumatized by a war experience, he was affected by it for the rest of his life."

"So, what felt like a desire there was for a restart — for him and for Steve in a way," he added. "It didn't necessarily feel like the shield was gonna be that. Steve going back in time and saying, "I'm gonna take something for me now. I've been here for all these guys, and I've done the best I could. I'm just a man, and I'm going to go back and try to live my life." I feel that is something that Bucky would want for his best friend, and at the same time, Steve is saying to Bucky, "You're going to go and do that, too. I'm not going to put this thing on you. We're both going to live our lives — the lives that were actually taken from us back in the '40s when we enlisted." So, that's where I felt they were at the end of the movie."

Stan concluded, "I don't think there's a desire or any conflicted thoughts about taking on that mantle. Sam, to me, was always the clear man to take on that mantle for numerous reasons, which also comes with so much more baggage that's going to be explored in the show. I guess you'll have to tune into Disney+ to find out why. (Laughs.) At the end of Endgame, for either Steve or Bucky, it's really not about the shield."

Do you think Bucky should have gotten the mantle? Let us know in the comments!