The Falcon And The Winter Soldier‘s going to start rolling in less than two weeks (following the conclusion of WandaVision), and Anthony Mackie’s out there, knowing that Steve Rogers handed Sam Wilson the shield at Avengers: Endgame, and he knows that the fandom has expectations. Lots of expectations, especially since Wanda turned out to be such a Phase 4 revelation.
Variety spoke with Mackie, who admitted that he felt trepidation over the passing of the shield. He explained how he worked up through theater school and through indie movies and all of the proper procedures, and now that he’s got a starring role in a prominent Disney+ series, Mackie is admitting that he hesitated to do The Falcon and the Winter Soldier because (for perfectly understandable reasons) he feared being a frontman for the first Marvel franchise to not hit big. Via Variety:
“I didn’t think we could do on the television what we’d been doing on the big screen. I didn’t want to be the face of the first Marvel franchise to fail. Like, ‘See? We cast the Black dude, and now this shit is awful.’ That was a huge fear of mine, and also a huge responsibility with playing a Marvel character.”
The rest of the interview’s worth a whirl, particularly for how Mackie explains the appeal of Sam Wilson and how he characterizes his friendship and “hinted-at-understanding” between himself and Chadwick Boseman in the MCU. Mackie also admits that he’d love to star in an old-school romcom, although they’re really not making those anymore these days, are they? It’s a good thing this Marvel thing is working out quite well for him.
Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will premiere on March 19.
(Via Variety)
