Falcon and the Winter Soldier Director Kari Skogland Breaks Silence on US Agent's Debut

The first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+ ended with a major cliffhanger [...]

The first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+ ended with a major cliffhanger that has left many Marvel fans upset with the reveal of Captain America's replacement. We get to see Sam Wilson's reaction to the news, and he's visibly shaken that the government has acquired Steve Rogers' shield that was gifted to the Smithsonian at the beginning of the episode. John Walker, the new Captain America, was announced to be a hero for the country, not exactly the world, and it appears the show is going to confront those issues in the coming episodes.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier director Kari Skogland recently spoke with Variety about this turning point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. During the interview, she mentioned why the language of this announcement was so important.

"We need heroes who are relatable; we need heroes who are from this planet," Skogland said paraphrasing. Skogland added her thoughts about Sam's reaction: "They had gone in, and obviously done exactly what Sam was hoping that they wouldn't. The shield belongs to Steve. It belongs to that time."

She added, "We were always telling a racially charged exploration of what it was for a Black man to pick up the shield."

As far as this replacement Cap goes, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are adapting the story of the U.S. Agent from Marvel Comics, and an upcoming episode will reveal more information about Walker. But that press conference that revealed Walker to the world was filmed in such a way to make the audience question his motives, especially when he winked at the camera.

"I wanted to hero-ise," Skogland said about introducing Walker in the mask. "Lots of low angles and sneaky imagery, so that you just about get him — you don't quite get him ... You're trying to find out, 'Who is this guy?'"

Though Sam and Bucky Barnes didn't share a scene in the premiere, this revelation could be the impetus to finally push them toward each other.

"Sam and Bucky will have a really interesting interaction as they go through their adventure about just that — what the shield means to each one of them for different reasons," Skogland said.

The first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is now streaming on Disney+.

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