Anthony Mackie Absolutely Did Not Think Taking Falcon To Disney+ Was A Good Idea, Even After Kevin Feige Talked To Him

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It’s been over two years since Avengers: Endgame featured Chris Evans' Steve Rogers passing the shield to Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson. Following the movie’s release, fans were hopeful they were going to find out what would happen with Sam and the shield, and they got their answers in Marvel Studios and Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, the idea wasn’t completely on the level to all involved, or at least not at first, according to the new Captain America himself.

While speaking to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation with the rest of the Falcon & the Winter Soldier cast, Anthony Mackie was asked about the show’s pitch and the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame. Mackie was as confused as ever, which is common when it comes to the Marvel and Disney+ shows, even after Marvel Studios' President talked to him:

We never talked about it when the pitch of the show came about it. It was more so about the continuation about what was gonna happen with the shield, if it was gonna be Bucky or if it was gonna be Sam. Because at the end of Endgame, Sam didn’t accept the shield. He told Steve, ‘It feels like this is someone else’s, it feels like it’s yours.’ So at no point in time was [Sam] excited or looking forward to the idea of becoming Captain America. So it was more so Kevin [Feige] and Nate [Moore] telling me, ’We’re not sure what’s happening, so the show will be more about the idea or the archetype of Captain America, not you becoming Captain America. So I was really confused leaving out of the meeting. And I wasn’t excited either. I hated the idea. I thought it was gonna be an awful idea.

Although Anthony Mackie wasn’t too into the idea at first, Marvel is always one to blow projects out of the water. The company's secrets is what make the movies and shows so intriguing, and even the actors sometimes don’t know what’s going on. The idea of bringing Falcon from the movie to the television screen, and the thought of another black superhero that fans can look up to, soon got Mackie excited. He explained:

I didn’t want to be the guy in the first Marvel project that sucked. I didn’t know what to make of it. But once we got into it and they promised me they were going to keep the same level of work that we’ve been doing on the movie screen, from the movie screen to the television screen, I got excited. Everybody was kind of weird about what was going on, it was so secretive. You know, Sebastian and I had our meetings on the same day and it was like, ‘So what are you going in for?’ ‘I dunno, whatchu going in for?’ It was, I thought it was going to be a disaster. Especially putting me and Sebastian together and letting us go.

Marvel’s secrets turned out to be a good thing, as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which was basically a six-hour movie, became an instant hit on Disney+. While there is no word yet on whether or not the show is getting another season, considering how Season 1 ended, it wouldn’t be surprising if the starring characters returned in some way, shape or form, especially now that Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson is officially the new Captain America.

All episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are streaming on Disney+, which you can sign up for with this link. Don't forget that Captain America 4 is also reportedly in development, so stay tuned to updates on that project.

Megan Behnke
Freelance TV News Writer

Passionate writer. Obsessed with anything and everything entertainment, specifically movies and television. Can get easily attached to fictional characters.