‘The stunt guys we worked with on the films did our stunts on the show’
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is Marvel’s new TV series, writes Danielle de Wolfe
We kept saying, ‘If we’re gonna do a series with Falcon and Winter Soldier in it, we need to at least start off with the best action that we’ve ever seen’,” says Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
And in true Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) style, the film studio has done just that.
Following in the footsteps of hit show Wandavision, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier is the second Marvel Studios series to land on the Disney+ streaming service.
It’s a project that sees actors Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan join forces, as their respective characters Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes try to carry on the heroic work of Captain America.
“We’ve seen a lot of cool action with both of them before,” says Feige.
“And more importantly, as I think you also see in that first episode and will see much more of over the course of the series, learn who the heck they are.”
Best known for his roles in The Hurt Locker and Captain America: Civil War, 42-year-old Mackie felt right at home given the common home town thread between himself and his character Sam, better known as Falcon.
“When I first read the script, I was really happy and acknowledged the fact that I was from Louisiana… New Orleans is the best city in the world,” says Mackie triumphantly.
Mackie says his character’s evolution from comic book to screen is something worth tuning in for.
“When Sam Wilson first started out, he was a hustler from Harlem,” says Mackie. “And then, as African Americans’ culture evolved, Stan Lee evolved him in the comic book into different incarnations of himself.
“So, I’m excited for everyone to see the – I guess, the new and improved Sam Wilson.”
As with any Marvel franchise, action comes as standard.
And despite The Falcon And The Winter Soldier taking the form of a series as opposed to a single blockbuster, the studio is keen to emphasise that no corners have been cut when it comes to the production’s high-end action sequences.
“The great thing about what we were able to do was nothing was jeopardised or watered down,” says Mackie. “The same stunt guys we worked with on the films are the same guys who choreographed and did all of our stunts on the show.”
“It’s more physical. It’s more assertive. Because of that, the stunt guys had a field day.”
Co-star Stan, 38, best known for his roles in The Martian and Captain America, had to put aside a decade of playing Barnes to embrace how his character evolves in the series.
“I was pretty freaked out because I felt like we had established a character a certain way and there were certain things about him that I knew and I was very comfortable and familiar with tonally in the movies,” says Stan.
“And then, we had to kind of go into this and go, ‘All right. Well, what is he like now?’ That’s always exciting for an actor.”
● The Falcon And The Winter Soldier is out on Disney+