Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier has been hanging around the Marvel Cinematic Universe for over a century as a soldier, an assassin, and a hero – but actor Sebastian Stan is teasing (or joking?) that some big changes could be on the way for Bucky. Stan made an appearance at Tokyo Comic-Con, where he lifted a prop of Captain America’s shield and made a bold proclamation: “Not Captain America…yet.”
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Will Bucky Barnes Also Become Captain America?
Those are ominous words for Sebastian Stan to be saying – whether jokingly or not. His Falcon and the Winter Soldier co-star Anthony Mackie is about to carry the mantle of Captain America in his first solo film, Captain America: Brave New World. That film will (in part) confront the issue of whether or not Sam Wilson (Mackie) can carry the mantle of Captain America in a complicated modern world. There’s also the question of whether or not Sam will want to be Cap, after learning some of the deeper, darker, secrets of geopolitics, and the legacy of Captain America and the Super Soldier Serum.
Then there’s the government factor. Brave New World has made it clear that Sam Wilson will be auditioning to be the official version of Captain America sanctioned by the US government – an audition that obviously hits the wall by the time President Ross (Harrison Ford) becomes Red Hulk. Following the release of Captain America: Brave New World we will get Thunderbolts*, the next chapter of Bucky Barnes’ story in the MCU. The Thunderbolts squad will be run by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and there are theories that the film’s asterisk title is a teaser for a bigger reveal that this team will be Valentina’s government-controlled Avengers squad. That “Avengers” team would need a Captain America – and Bucky might end up competing with John Walker / US Agent (Wyatt Russell) for that title. A fight between Bucky and Walker would be an epic and unexpected way to end Thunderbolts* and would set Bucky on a collision course with his buddy Sam, in a clash of shields. That’s the kind of interconnected storytelling with dramatic stakes that MCU fans want to get back to – a story arc that makes two films and a streaming show worth the investment.
Marvel Studios is also sitting on the ultimate fan-service parachute, thanks to the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars event films. A version of Bucky who became Captain America is one of many multiverse variants that could show up either in the reality where Robert Downey Jr. reigned as Doctor Doom, or in the final Multiverse Saga showdown in Secret Wars. A scene of Sam, Bucky, and Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers all wielding Cap shields together would be one of those ‘stand up and cheer’ moments fans crave.
Thunderbolts* stars Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh as Yelena Boleva, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Lewis Pullman as “Bob.” The film is directed by Jake Schreier, from a script by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo. It has a release date of May 5, 2025.
