The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will continue the stories of its title characters in two MCU movies instead of getting a proper second season.
Summary
- The Falcon and The Winter Soldier won't have a traditional second season, but will continue through upcoming MCU movies, Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts.
- Captain America: Brave New World will explore Sam's first mission as Captain America and address how the public has reacted to his new role, while Thunderbolts will focus on Bucky's recovery journey and the redemption of John Walker.
- While a true second season of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier seems unlikely, Marvel may revisit the characters in the future after the release of Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is getting a continuation three years after its release, but it’s not a second season in the traditional sense. The MCU’s Phase 4 saw the beginning of this universe’s TV branch, kicking off with WandaVision and continuing with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which caught up with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was a success with critics and viewers, and though it’s listed as a miniseries, there’s still hope for a second season that will answer the questions season 1 left.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier follows Sam and Bucky teaming up to stop the Flag Smashers, an anti-patriotism group led by Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman). This group was enhanced with a recreation of the Super Soldier Serum, and in order to stop them, Sam and Bucky teamed up with Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl). The Falcon and The Winter Soldier ended with Sam officially becoming the new Captain America and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) becoming U.S. Agent, so there are a lot of questions waiting for answers in a second season – however, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier isn’t getting a season 2 in the traditional way, but it will continue in two ways.
Two MCU Movies Will Replace The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Season 2
A second season of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier hasn’t been announced, but two upcoming MCU movies will serve as such. The fourth Captain America movie, Captain America: Brave New World, is the official continuation of the series, and as the title says, it will follow Sam in his first mission as Captain America. Captain America: Brave New World will also see the return of Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, who after The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has become the new Falcon, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns, and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, with Harrison Ford playing Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross.
Bucky Barnes won’t join Sam in his first movie as Captain America, but he will return as part of a new team in Thunderbolts. This group is formed by antiheroes and reformed supervillains, giving Bucky a new chance to distance himself from his past and reputation as the Winter Soldier, which was his main struggle throughout The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Bucky will be joined by Ghost, Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, Taskmaster, and U.S. Agent, so Thunderbolts will be a double continuation of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier as it will also address Walker’s story.
What TFATWS Plot Threads The MCU Still Needs To Address
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier left a couple of loose threads that will now have to be addressed in Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts, especially if a proper second season doesn’t happen. The world is now adapting to a new Captain America, so Brave New World will have to address how the public has reacted to Sam taking his friend’s place, as well as how Joaquin has been handling being the new Falcon. Another plot thread that the next Captain America movie needs to address is if Isaiah Bradley will continue getting his redemption, and if his grandson, Eli Bradley, will become Patriot.
Thunderbolts has a bigger challenge as it has to address several plot threads from each of its characters, but in Bucky’s case, the main one is all about his recovery journey as he continues to do his best to move on from being the Winter Soldier. It’s to be seen if Bucky will keep the Winter Soldier name and give it a new purpose or if he will go for a different name, maybe going back to being the White Wolf. Thunderbolts also has to address what’s going on with John Walker as U.S. Agent and what his role in the team is as he already knows Valentina Allegra de Fontaine quite well.
Will TFATWS Actually Get A True Season 2?
While Marvel has already greenlit a second season for one of its most successful TV shows (Loki), that hasn’t been the case for all MCU TV shows. As mentioned above, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is listed as a miniseries, meaning that it won’t go past those six episodes, even if the ending left the door wide open for a second season. However, with Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts continuing the stories of the series’ main characters, a second season seems unlikely and even unnecessary now.
Although Kevin Feige implied at some point that a second season of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier could happen (via EW), there seems to be no movement on that side of the MCU. Mackie had previously shared there were no discussions about a second season, and on the day the series’ finale was released, series creator Malcolm Spellman, along with writer Dalan Musson, was revealed to be working on the script for Captain America: Brave New World, as it will be a continuation of the series.
A second season of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier seems unlikely, but it’s still possible that Marvel could go back to it (now as Captain America and The Winter Soldier) after the release of Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts to continue the stories of Sam and Bucky together one more time.
