What Does Disney+’s ‘The Falcon And The Winter Soldier’ Trailer Tell Us About The New Captain America?

Disney+’s WandaVision is currently exceeding fan expectations while pushing the MCU into wild and wacky new territory, and it sure looks like the high-octane The Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailer (which dropped during the Super Bowl) promises to keep up the action-end of Phase Four, probably with a few surprises along the way. The trailer revealed the return of not only Daniel Brühl’s Baron Helmut Zemo but also (to much applause) the return of (the kickass and confrontational) Sharon Carter, who may have been in the wind since Captain America: Civil War. What will Steve’s one-time love interest have to say about Steve Rogers deciding to travel back in time to be with her aunt Peggy? God only knows, but a more pressing question for the future of the MCU would be this: who gets to be the new Captain America?

Fans will remember that Steve officially handed the shield to Sam Wilson/Falcon at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but nerds also know that, in the comics, both Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier and Sam took up the shield at various points. So, there’s bound to be a little friction there. Bucky quietly signaled his approval to Sam taking the shield in Endgame, but he also looked a little sad. Whatever the case, though, the new Disney+ trailer is teasing us and refusing to hand out a real clue on which member of this buddy comedy will emerge with the shield. In fact, this moment around 0:45 follows up a peek at Steve Rogers’ memorial with Sam and Bucky apparently training with the shield.

In short, this trailer tells us very little except that it’s sure not set in stone that Sam Wilson will be the MCU’s next Captain America. In fact, since Bucky’s catching the darn thing, that might lend hope that he’s the one who ultimately ends up doing the honors. Are they competing in this scene, or are they simply practicing? Could they possibly even share duties with the shield? I don’t freaking know, but from the way that Bucky catches that hunk of vibranium, I can’t help but think of a certain moment in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when a then-unidentified Bucky momentarily snagged the shield from Steve. This was a dramatic moment that many saw as foreshadowing.

Several movies later, Bucky arguably got the shaft after he and Steve vowed to be together “until the end of the line.” That’s bittersweet, but also Bucky is not of completely sound mind after everything that he’s been through. Still, Anthony Mackie recently threw out signals that Bucky may very well have a shot; yep, and Mackie got very cryptic while pointing out to Collider that Sam never agreed to be the new Cap:

“We don’t know that yet. The show, the idea of the show is basically, you know, and at the end of Endgame, Cap decided he was going into retirement and he asked me if I would take up the shield, but at no point in time did I agree to or say that I would be Captain America. So, the show walks the line of who is going to take up the shield and who’s going to be Captain America if Steve isn’t coming back.”

It would actually be quite funny if we found out that Sam didn’t wanna be Cap but didn’t want to hurt Steve’s feelings by articulating that sentiment. In any event, get ready for some mega-drama with the shield, y’all.

Elsewhere in the trailer, I sure enjoyed the whole play on “couple’s therapy” with Bucky being asked, “Why does Sam aggravate you?” The answer to that question (from Captain America: Civil War) will never get old: leg room! Oh, here’s a poster.

Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will premiere on March 19.