The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Set Report Teases the Debut of the Thunderbolts

After nearly six months of downtime due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, filming has finally resumed on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The Disney+ series focuses on Captain America's closest allies in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, showing fans how the marvel Cinematic Universe has changed following Steve Rogers' retirement. Now it looks like we know some plot elements as big spoilers have emerged from the set of the series, confirming the return of a Marvel Studios villain as well as the debut of a character who could herald the debut of the Thunderbolts in a future project.

As filming resumes in Atlanta, set videos and photos confirm the return of Georges St-Pierre as Batroc the Leaper, the C-level Cap villain who first appeared on the screen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The report also confirmed the casting of Erin Kellyman, who might be playing the character Songbird — a prominent member of the Thunderbolts in the pages of Marvel Comics.

The set video indicates that Kellyman's character meets with St-Pierre's Batroc, and the two are joined by Desmond Chiam's unknown character. Speculation pegs Kellyman's character to be Songbird, though it's not yet confirmed, and the scene in the production indicates this is the case.

In the scene, Kellyman's character meets with the others in a public setting and displays her powers when she exerts control over regular citizens; while this isn't one of Songbird's most popular abilities, which includes supersonic screams similar to Black Canary, she has been known to use her vocal powers to manipulate people.

Marvel Studios has yet to confirm Kellyman's casting, much less say that she'll be playing the iconic antihero of Songbird. But given the character's on-set appearances, it seems likely that the Thunderbolts are set to play a major part in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Actor Daniel Bruhl, who is reprising his role as Baron Zemo for the series, spoke about the promise of returning to the MCU for the upcoming series.

"I remember that Kari Skogland, the director, came to Budapest and we recorded something with me being Zemo, and I was very happy and enthusiastic to see the mask," explained Bruhl. "I was incredibly thrilled to go back because I remember that I had a lot of fun being in something completely different and getting to explore the MCU and become part of that. I have the fondest memories of collaborating with all of these wonderful actors, and to see Sebastian Stan again, and Anthony Mackie, this time around, and to come back to something which, on the one hand, felt common and known, and on the other hand, being something completely new and something fresh."

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier does not yet have a release date on Disney+.