What We Know About Falcon and the Winter Soldier So Far

This article was originally published for the Grand Geek Gathering on February 10th, 2021. 

Last Sunday, 96.4 million people tuned in to watch the release of the second official trailer for Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

The new trailer gives us a sneak peek at who we can expect to see for the six 50-minute episodes of the first season.

We have Emily VanCamp reprising her role as Sharon Carter, and Georges St. Pierre as Batroc the Leaper, previously seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  Helmut Zemo, played by Daniel Brühl, is also back; last time we saw him, he was neutralized at the end of Captain America: Civil War.  How he’s out of prison is anyone’s guess.

We also have a handful of new characters.  There’s a brief glimpse of U.S. Agent John Walker, running onto a field during a sporting event in full Captain America garb.  Played by Wyatt Russell, it’s unclear to what degree John Walker will be an antagonist of Sam and Bucky.

More obviously a villain is U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. (the Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind), the people wearing the masks with the hand on the face.  In Marvel lore, this guerilla army is an antagonist of Cap’s; their mission is to fight against nationalism.  No word on whether or not we’ll get to see the leader of U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M., Flag Smasher.  The most prominent member of U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. featured in the trailer is an unnamed woman with red hair, who might just be Sinthia Schmidt… daughter of Johann Schmidt, aka Red Skull.

What other insights does the new trailer offer?  Well, we see both Bucky and Sam hoisting Cap’s shield; Sam throws it and Bucky catches it, raising the possibility that the mantle of Captain America is either disputed or shared.  This meshes with a recent statement by Anthony Mackie in a recent interview with Inverse, who points out that Sam Wilson never accepted the shield, agreed to be Captain America, or even necessarily wants to be Captain America.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that Sam Wilson appears to still be an inexplicable jerk to Bucky.

He chides him for getting his “ass kicked” by “a little girl,” refuses to divulge a “plan” to him as he jumps out of an airplane, and engages him in a staring contest during what appears to be couples’ therapy.  It’s a bit weird that Sam, a counselor for vets with PTSD, is so willing and eager to nag at Bucky, the ultimate traumatized POW, but hey, we understand that Steve left the two of them with only one shield and a weird “No-I’m-His-Best-Pal” rivalry.

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And friction aside, we do see the two of them working together, albeit with a lot of ribbing.  Whether it’s with S.H.I.E.L.D., S.W.O.R.D., or another agency remains to be seen.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is directed by Kari Skogland, with Malcolm Spellman as the head writer.  The first episode will air on Disney+ on March 19th, with a new episode every Friday.  Watch the trailer below!