The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has some new details from a deleted storyline that have come to light. MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios chronicles everything that Marvel fans want to know about the current Disney+ era. Authors Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards chronicle a disease plotline that may explain some missing threads in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Well studied MCU fans might remember whispers about a pandemic storyline being cut from the Disney+ show back in 2021. But, this stands as some real written confirmation about what went on. Travel issues also help explain some of the pivots that Marvel Studios had to take on as a result of real-world events.
In the book, they discuss, “‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ had already canceled location work in Puerto Rico after a devastating earthquake in January 2020,” the book reads (h/t ScreenRant for grabbing). “The pandemic not only forced the show to abort a shoot in Prague but made a planned plotline about the heroes rushing to stop a fast-spreading disease feel a bit too close to reality. (Spellman acknowledged that the series had removed the side story, although he said that it wasn’t because of the coronavirus.)”
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Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s “Lost Storyline”
Previous interviews with Falcon and the Winter Soldier head writer Malcolm Spellman did very little to stop all of this speculation. Back in 2021, he joined Fade to Black and got asked about things that might have ended up on the cutting room floor. Spellman asserts that the changes had nothing to do with the pandemic. But, his comments line-up so well with what’s been reported in MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios. In fact, the writer’s admissions about “not saying there was a “lost storyline” probably do more to embolden all that speculation than anything else. Check out more of what he had to say right here!
“I’ve been told to stop saying that (there was a “lost” storyline),” Spellman told the show. “But I loved it, and it had nothing to do with the pandemic…I want to see if we can get some of the writers to do a book run on it because I think Kevin [Feige] dug it. I’ve been told to stop talking about it.”
Feige Alludes To Pandemic Parallels
Malcolm Spellman wasn’t alone in stoking some of those fires. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige also had some comments in the media that made fans whispering grow even louder. The executive spoke to Variety about the Phase 4 and Phase 5 Marvel titles on the way back in 2021. The Blip was a strong enough similarity to the feelings of many during the COVID-19 pandemic. He and other decision-makers were wary of the similarities over the course of Phase 4. Adding a literal pandemic storyline to Falcon and the Winter Soldier may have been a bridge too many. Here’s what the head man had to say.
“As we were developing and working on all these things, maybe two years ago, I started to say ‘The Blip’ — the Thanos event that radically changed everything between Infinity War and Endgame, that gave this global, universal, galactic experience to people — would only serve us so well, that we need to just keep looking ahead and going into new places,” Feige said at the time. “I was wary of it becoming like ‘The Battle of New York,’ which was the third act of Avengers 1, which ended up being referenced as an event kind of constantly, and sometimes better than others. And I was wary of that.”
Does this help explain some of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Let us know in the comments down below!
