The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Anthony Mackie Explains Why Sam Wilson Isn’t the New Captain America

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is three episodes deep and one of the biggest surprises of the show has been John Walker (Wyatt Russell) becoming the new Captain America after Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) clearly wanted the job to go to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). In the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam gave the shield to the Smithsonian, unaware that the government planned to give it to Walker. Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is struggling to understand Sam’s decision, and he’s not the only one. Mackie recently answered some questions for MTV Asia, including, “Why does Sam feel conflicted over Steve Rogers being adamant he wield the shield?”

“Well, because the shield belongs to Steve, and you know, Sam got into this because of his relationship with Steve. Sam wasn’t waiting in the wings, hoping and waiting to become Captain America. The whole goal and idea was to save the world with Steve. So if he’s Cap, that means Steve is no longer with him,” Mackie explained. “So, it takes the fun out of it. You know, the idea of being a superhero and being Captain America as a Black man, representing a symbol that for 500 years, has literally enslaved, downtrodden, and persecuted you people is a harsh reality to try and come to grips with.” You can watch the full interview in the video below:

As for the new Cap, Wyatt Russell is very aware of the hate his character is getting, in fact, he doesn’t seem to mind it. “It would be an honor, I guess, to be disliked in the Marvel universe,” Russell previously told USA Today.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s first three episodes are now streaming on Disney+ with new episodes dropping on Fridays. The rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 2021 line-up includes Loki premiering on Disney+ on June 11th, Black Widow in theatres and on Disney+ Premier Access on July 9th, What If… on Disney+ this summer, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in theatres on September 3rd, Eternals in theatres on November 5th, Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel coming to Disney+ later in the year, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home in theatres on December 17th.

Watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+.

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