‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ Star Anthony Mackie Says the Marvel Disney+ Series Begins With Sadness
After The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Super Bowl trailer, Marvel fans are even more pumped for the streaming show. However, Falcon actor Anthony Mackie reminds fans that we last saw him in a place of sadness. The Disney+ series picks up after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.]
Mackie appeared on IMDb’s That Scene with Dan Patrick podcast on Feb. 10. Mackie discussed the debate over who will be the new Captain America, focusing on Sam Wilson/Falcon’s sadness over Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). The Falcon and the Winter Soldier release date is March 19.
Where ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was supposed to be the first Marvel series on Disney+. Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, WandaVision went first. Mackie said most of the Marvel movies, including the Captain America franchise, were pure escapism.
“I think they’re a great escape,” Mackie told Patrick. “I feel like what our society and not only our country but our world being what it is, everybody wants that feeling or relief that ability to escape. I think when you see the good guys win, it kind of makes you believe that the good guys will actually win in real life when honest and truth prevail. So, I think a lot of people just use these movies as the great escape and they have a huge attachment to these characters because of it.”
Marvel movies got emotional before ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’
There was more to the Marvel movies than pure escape though. Captain America: Civil War dealt with superhero political differences, and Avengers: Endgame dealt with the tragedy of half the universe disappearing in The Snap. At the end, Falcon says goodbye to Steve Rogers as an old man. That’s where Falcon and the Winter Soldier finds him.
“At no point in time did he say, ‘I’m Captain America now,’” Mackie said. “It was more so a sadness that his friend is leaving him. Only thing bumming me out is the fact that I have to live in a world without Captain America.”
Anthony Mackie isn’t ready to become Captain America
There have been conflicting rumors about the status of Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Early reports said Sam was indeed taking over the shield, while other reports said there would be multiple Captains. Mackie isn’t clearing anything up before the Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiere date.
“Well, it was weird because at no point in time did I accept the shield,” Mackie said. “Sam never took the shield. When Cap gave it to him he says, ‘I don’t like it, because it’s yours.’”
Mackie did suggest that the mantle of Captain America could be too big for one man. Perhaps the multiple Cap idea could speak to representation.
It’s a slippery slope. I think at this day and age, nobody expected us to be where we are today when Endgame came out, you know? So, it’s interesting now what that moniker means in America in the world today, as opposed to when the movie came out. I wouldn’t even say trepidation. I just think it’s a feeling of self-question. You know, as a Black man in America, every day you have to wake up and ask yourself that question, how is your day going to go and what you’re going to put into your day to make sure you make it home safely.
Anthony Mackie, That Scene with Dan Patrick, 2/10/21
