Falcon and Winter Soldier Almost Gave Captain America's Shield a Major Upgrade

By Adam Barnhardt

By the time The Falcon and the Winter Soldier wrapped its first season, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) settled into his role as the new Captain America, donning the stars and stripes in place of Chris Evans' Steve Rogers. That came with a red, white, and blue suit built by Wakanda's Dora Milaje, featuring high-tech gadgets and gizmos throughout.

At one point, the character's iconic shield nearly got an upgrade that would have produced a force field to those huddled under it. Though it got to the concept stage per Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Art of the Series, the filmmakers behind the series opted to scrap it.

"Ryan [Meinerding] asked some of the [Visual Development] department to take a little bit of time and think up some new ways that Sam could use the shield, more specific to him and his own physicality with it…," artist Wesley Burt revealed in the book (via The Direct). "When I was thinking about the tech rim piece, I was looking for a way to minimally add an element to the shield so as not to distract too much from the shield itself but still make it feel like it could have a believable tech addition and hint at the Wakandan upgrades before you see them used."

Burt went on to add that he pulled inspiration from the shields used by the Wakandan Border Tribe in Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.

"I also just really wanted to think of other ways that could emphasize the defensive nature of the shield itself and not just look for new ways that it could be used as a weapon," the illustrator continued. "I immediately thought of the various shield tech used by the Border Tribe and their blue cape shields, and also the big cloaking shield around Wakanda itself, as a jumping-off point for how it could be implemented here…"

Watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+.

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