The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Showrunner on the “Huge Opportunity” For a Black Captain America

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier seems destined to follow the Marvel Comics stories which see Sam Wilson inherit the mantle of Captain America. Avengers: Endgame saw Steve Rogers hand over the star-spangled shield to his close ally and the upcoming Disney+ series is set to explore Sam’s growth in accepting the shield, along with the difficulties of trying to do just that. While Anthony Mackie is quick to dodge spoilers by teasing his Sam Wilson is not certainly Captain America just yet, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman is opening up about the important opportunity the has before it.

Super hero films and mainstream blockbuster titles in general have predominantly featured white protagonists and heroes. Now, Marvel is leading a charge to bring diversity to the world’s largest cinematic franchise, and can has the change to be quite inspirational and integral if and when it passes the Captain America mantle to Mackie’s Sam Wilson. “The idea of whether or not a Black man could become Captain America just felt like a huge moment and a huge opportunity,” Spellman told EW. Surely, if and when Mackie does stand in frame in an episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in a full-on Falcon-Captain America suit, the fans will be thrilled, but the W for diversity in mainstream media will also be gigantic.

Black characters have been emerging slowly in the MCU in recent years, especially on the heels of Black Panther which definitively proved the ability of a Black cast and crew to be a juggernaut at the box office. Black Panther has a sequel on the way, Don Cheadle’s War Machine has a Disney+ series coming in the form of Armor Wars, Riri Williams will be the lead character in Ironheart, and Mahershala Ali is in line to play Blade in a reboot of the popular Marvel daywalker’s story. Furthermore on the diversity front, Iman Vellani is bringing Ms. Marvel to the MCU, Simu Liu has Shang-Chi on the way, and Eternals has a star-studded cast loaded with diversity in itself.

While this topic is meaningful and goes deeper than simply any one character on the screen, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will almost certainly have its classic banter and humor, along the way. The series sees Mackie and Sebastian Stan playing characters who are perpetually on each other’s nerves but ultimately come together to do what needs to be done for the greater good time after time. “There’s a real chemistry there,” Spellman said of Mackie and Stan. “Imagine getting to write the first installment of a buddy-cop series, knowing exactly what the rhythm and flavor is with the two characters before you even start.” Spellman also noted that there will be quite a bit of improvised banter in the series.

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