The Marvel Cinematic Universe a big place, thanks to the constant release of new projects in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order will recall that actor Sebastian Stan has been there since Phase One as Bucky Barnes, with his tenure as the character still ongoing. Although he did admit that filming Avengers: Endgame without a full script was challenging at the time.
Stan recently returned as Bucky in Thunderbolts*, which has been successful in theaters and with critics. While we got all the information he needed for that movie, Infinity War and Endgame were top-secret operations. When appearing on an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Apprentice actor was asked if he ever has do act in the MCU without context of what's happening in-universe. He said:
No, I can't. I have to understand what I'm doing, which is why Avengers: Endgame was really, kind of tough when we were shooting it. Because you know, a lot of us didn't read the scripts. I think there were only a few people that had read them and I was like, 'Fuck, I can't.' I mean granted, it was the Russos and there were a lot of trusting people, but usually I need to know what's going on.
That certainly sounds challenging. While Stan has limited screen time in Endgame thanks to Bucky being snapped out of existence during Infinity War. He was not one of the actors who got a full script, so he had to bring his scenes to life without understanding the context of the movie as a whole. Marvel security really is intense.
At that point, The Russo Brothers had already proven themselves as some of the best filmmakers in the MCU. Aside from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, they brought the ambitious story of Civil War to life and proved their ability to balance a large ensemble cast. So there was lots of good will when they were withholding scripts from the cast, even if that's not how Sebastian Stan likes to work.
I have to wonder which sequences Stan is particularly referencing. Tony Stark's funeral comes to mind as some of the cast confirmed this was a mystery scene ahead of cameras going up. So it's not like they had a long time to rfine their performances ahead of time.
Another memorable scene for Bucky in Endgame was Steve Rogers' ending. He said goodbye to his friend as he departed to return the Infinity Stones (and Mjolnir) to their places in the timeline. And then he was as surprised as fans were when Steve returns as an old man.
Stan can be seen in Thunderbolts* now as part of the 2025 movie release list. He's already confirmed to appear in Avengers: Endgame on May 1st, 2026. Hopefully they give the poor guy a full script this time around.
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