Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) becoming the new Captain America was set-up at the end of Avengers: Endgame, so it wasn't exactly a surprise to see him officially take up the mantle during the season finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Sam's journey was far from straightforward, though, and the second man to call himself Captain America after Steve Rogers actually turned out to be John Walker (Wyatt Russell). Now, showrunner Malcolm Spellman has revealed that discussions took place about having another character wield the shield.
“We entertained a lot of different stuff,” the writer tells Den of Geek. “I won’t get into what, but maybe different people were going to be holding the shield in other episodes. It fell by the wayside pretty quickly, because there was such poignancy to Sam’s journey that we very quickly did not have to clutter it with a bunch of plot and a bunch of tricks.”
Though he doesn't confirm as much here, we assume Spellman is referencing Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).
The Winter Soldier was annoyed at Sam for giving up the shield, and there were hints that he was thinking about stepping up as the new Cap in his place. Chances are Sam was still going to end up as the new Sentinel of Liberty, of course, but it sounds like an intriguing subplot involving Bucky contemplating the possibility of continuing his old friend's legacy may have been dropped.
What do you guys make of Spellman's comments? Be sure to share your thoughts in the usual place.
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