The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Will Set Up Multiple New MCU Projects

Black Widow

There's been a lot of speculation about why Marvel Studios has opted multiple times to move Black Widow to a release date that's in close proximity to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Easy answer? Because the two projects are related in some way. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has been steeped in hits that it will be dealing with the role of the Super Soldier Serum that transformed Steve Rogers into Captain America - and all the unholy experiments and rival programs that milestone spawned.

Black Widow may be set years before Avengers: Infinity War, but the ramifications of Russia's super-spy and super-soldier programs may be revealed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's modern time period.

The Thunderbolts

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has several key Easter eggs pointing to Marvel's Thunderbolts being set up by the series. The Thunderbolts were a group of villains led by Helmut Zemo that choose to masquerade as superheroes while furthering their own schemes - the team was later rebooted as Norman Osborn/Luke Cage's dysfunctional team of villains seeking redemption; Red Hulk's strike team, and even a unit led by The Winter Soldier. The most recent incarnation of the team is a villain suicide squad used by Kingpin.

Zemo, US Agent, Winter Soldier and Batroc have all been members of The Thunderbolts that also happen to be part of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's cast of characters. Rumors also point to Screaming Mimi/Songbird potentially debuting in the series. Thunderbolts looks like a pretty likely series or movie to follow.

Armor Wars

Don Cheadle is going to be making a cameo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Don Cheadle's Rhodey/War Machine will be getting his own Marvel Disney+ series, Armor Wars, which will start filming later this year. Seems like an easy connection to make.

Hawkeye

Marvel's Hawkeye Disney+ series is the only other Phase 4 property besides Black Widow that's connected to that espionage/assassin corner of the MCU. It wouldn't be surprising if The Falcon and the Winter Soldier established some connective threads with Hawkeye.

Young Avengers

One of the bigger slow-burn plans Marvel Studios is setting in motion is the gradual introduction of the individual characters that one day unites to become the Young Avengers. One key member of that team is Patriot (aka Elijah Bradley), who may be very connected to the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Elijah Bradley is the grandson of Isiah Bradley, the Black Captain America that the government created after WWII by experimenting on black soldiers. Eli lies about being a super soldier to become the hero Patriot, using an illegal drug to give himself bursts of superhero power. After a sacrificial heroic act nearly kills Eli, his grandfather gave him a blood transfusion that provided Patriot with authentic enhanced abilities.

Isiah Bradley's story as the Black Captain America is one of the buried secrets of Cap's legacy that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will seemingly explore. And another major Younger Avengers figure can get introduced to stand alongside WandaVision's twins (Wiccan and Speed), Ant-Man 3's Cassie Lang, Hawkeye's Kate Bishop, Ms. Marvel, and a few others we expect to meet in the next few years.

Captain America: The Next Avenger

The core premise of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes trying to figure out what to do with the mantle and massive legacy of Captain America... so that needs to be resolved by the end of the series, right? There will need to be a new Captain America - or a couple new star-spangled Avengers - to give the world a symbol of good and hope. And if it's a new Cap we get, he needs a new project to shine in.

Seriously - the Captain America movie franchise is arguably Marvel's most acclaimed and successful one, and fans are waiting for a new chapter of it to begin.

New Steve Rogers Project!

Yes, this may be wishful thinking, but now that we know Chris Evans is returning to the MCU as Captain America again, we have to hope against hope that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will help kickstart a whole new project for him. Even if Sam Wilson or Bucky now holds the Captain America mantle, there are still so many great ways to utilize "Steve Rogers" as an MCU character. A series about the "Nomad Cap" years before Infinity War or an event series about Cap returning the Infinity Stones after Endgame would make fans very happy.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier streams on Disney+ starting March 19th.