Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes are back for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and from the looks of things, they have a lot of work to do—including learning how to get along with each other. The new series, which is slated for release on March 19 on Disney+, picks up where Avengers: Endgame left off.
Sam Wilson, also known as The Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. The Winter Soldier (played by Sebastian Stan) team up in the new series. In the aftermath of Endgame and its epic battle against Thanos, a lot has changed—including Captain America disappearing (via time travel) and leaving behind his shield. Captain America: Civil War villain Baron Zemo (played by Daniel Brühl) returns in the new series alongside Wyatt Russell as John Walker and Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter. Kari Skogland will direct the show, which will span six episodes.
Today, Marvel released a virtual launch event for the series, and it features Q&As with the show’s executive producers and the stars themselves. It gives a behind-the-scenes take on how the show came about and more insight into the playful relationship Mackie and Stan built up for filming.
“Sebastian and I always have fun,” says Mackie. “Reading the script, when I saw what our story was and where our storyline was going, I was really excited to get back together and make fun of him some more.”
The banter between the actors is a key element of their characters, too.
“Working with Anthony is sort of like getting into a car without a brake. You just really hope it’s not going to crash,” says Stan. “But that’s sort of the chemistry of the characters.”
You can watch the full event in the video above.
In addition, Marvel has released a series of trailers and clips that give glimpses of the action we’ll see in the series, including a fight scene atop semi trucks and The Falcon soaring out of a plane. They also hint at some interesting character development between Wilson and Barnes. They don’t get along too well, and in the first trailer, it lands them in a counseling session that devolves into a staring contest, as you’ll see below:
In a behind-the-scenes featurette highlighting Mackie and Stan, the actors go deep on the antagonistic relationship between the two characters.
“It’s an example of opposites attract,” says Mackie. “We couldn’t be more different.”
In the final trailer, though, the two get down to business, and the footage includes some powerful shots of The Falcon learning to master Captain America’s shield:
Stan is very well acquainted with The Winter Soldier: He first played the character in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, and has appeared in several sequels over the past decade. Bulking up to play a character with a bionic arm is no joke, as we found out when talking with Stan’s trainer, Don Saladino. For Stan, that involved a lot of kettlebell and carry work to build up his ability to move major weight (you can view the full arm workout here).
“It all comes down to grip strength,” Saladino told Men’s Journal. “That’s what’s going to get you moving that right amount of weight.”
Now it looks like the time in the gym has paid off. Check out the trailers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier above, and look for the series on Disney+ starting March 19.
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