The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Showrunner Says Series Builds Upon What Black Panther Started

The showrunner for Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier says that the series builds upon what Black Panther started. Malcolm Spellman is the man leading the Disney+ show. He talked to TV Line about the upcoming MCU project and pointed out how much diversity came into play when crafting this narrative. It is no secret that for a lot of viewers, T’Challa’s story was a major moment of seeing themselves represented on screen. Spellman is hoping that Falcon and the Winter Soldier can offer fans the same sort of experience. Previous reports and interviews have indicated that the show will grapple with the idea of what a Black Captain America would mean. None of that can happen without the proven blockbuster success of Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Boseman’s film though. The showrunner was very adamant about how he had seen Black Panther‘s reach in his own personal life.

“When you start to see the direct impact that a Black superhero had on my nephew, that’s branded on my brain,” Spellman told the publication. “I believe that Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a nice progression with the mantle that [Black Panther director Ryan] Coogler and Chadwick [Boseman] left us. I really do believe that these giant Black icons are necessary, not only for Black kids, but for white kids to start to absorb — our people as being big and heroic.”

“It was really empowering,” he continued, “after hearing for the first 15 years of my career that being Black meant you had to only do niche things that were really small, to see all Black filmmakers and be one of them to be involved with projects that just appealed across every spectrum while remaining decidedly Black. That’s probably one of the best things about the path we took to get here.”

WandaVision is currently streaming on Disney+. The rest of 2021’s line-up includes The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on March 19th, Black Widow in theatres on May 7th, Loki debuting on Disney+ in May, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in theatres on July 9th, What If… on Disney+ this summer, Eternals in theatres on November 5th, Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye coming to Disney+ later in the year, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 in theatres on December 17th.

Do you think Sam Wilson will be Captain America by the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Let us know down in the comments!

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