The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Marvel’s ‘Falcon’ promises action, explores race, patriotism
NEW YORK » When Steve Rogers handed Sam Wilson his Captain America shield at the end of Marvel’s massive 2019 event “Avengers: Endgame,” Wilson tried it on for a beat. “How does it feel?” the wrinkled Rogers asked. “Like it’s someone else’s,” Wilson responded.
That reluctance and skepticism is front-andcenter as Wilson’s story continues in “The Falcon and the Winter Solder,” a new six-episode Disney+ series that promises an exploration of patriotism and race alongside its shootouts and soaring chase scenes. The series launches Friday.
While “Endgame” appeared to promise a quick transition for Anthony Mackie’s Falcon to take up the Captain America mantle, as he has in the comics, the creator of “Falcon” promises only complications. the end of ‘Falcon,’ and I feel like I have one of the most unique, coolest characters in all of comic book movies.”
Unlike the mostly insular “WandaVision,” the first Marvel series launched after “Endgame,” “Falcon” promises a larger scope of globetrotting adventure with implications for multiple characters in upcoming series and films.
Spellman drew inspiration from race-conscious “buddy two-handers” like “Lethal Weapon,” “48 Hours” and “The Defiant Ones,” highlighting the warm chemistry between Mackie and Sebastian Stan, who joined Marvel movies as Bucky Barnes in 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger.” In comics, Barnes has also taken up Cap’s shield, lending an inherent tension to the series titular pairing.
Stan says “Falcon” allowed the two actors to find new shadings to their roles, even after so many film appearances, by “honoring the things that we have understood about them so far in the movies and then also staying open to taking them down a new path and finding the middle ground between those things. Of course, the more time you have, the more interesting they can get.”
Spellman, who was a producer and writer on the hit series “Empire,” says he’s looking to deal with potentially hot-button subjects honestly without alienating the audience. The story, featuring the return of Daniel Brühl as Zemo and Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter, also introduces a character named John Walker, played by Wyatt Russell. In the comics, Walker becomes U.S. Agent, a sometime antagonist to Captain America who twists American patriotism to darker ends.