Anthony Mackie says The Falcon & The Winter Soldier is like a six-hour movie

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

While there have certainly been plenty of Marvel TV shows since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began, the future will be looking a little different. Although shows such as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Daredevil were developed to take place within the MCU, they didn't exactly share continuity with the films to the same degree that fans were expecting. That will all change with the newest crop of Marvel TV projects destined for the Disney+ streaming service.

Not only will these shows feature actors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe reprising their roles, but it's said that the plots will directly affect the entirety of the MCU. The first of these Disney+ shows will be The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which will star Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. While speaking with Daveed Diggs (Snowpiercer) in an interview for Variety's Actors on Actors, Anthony Mackie said that although this is a TV show, they've shooting it exactly like a movie.

We’re shooting it exactly like a movie. Everybody who had worked on TV before was like, ‘I’ve never worked on a TV show like this.’ The way in which we were shooting, it feels exactly like we were shooting the movie cut up into the show. So instead of a two-hour movie, a six or eight-hour movie.

Production on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was well underway before they were forced to stop in March due to COVID-19. "We were in Europe, and everything got crazy in Europe first," Mackie said. "So they shut us down two weeks before the U.S. shutdown. It was really amazing just because I feel like we’re the first Marvel show or movie that had budget constraints. And that was always my [experience], ‘It’s Marvel, we could shoot forever.’ And they’re like, ‘Nah.’ So it was a very different experience from the rest of the movies. But at the same time, it was a lot of fun." Mackie continued, "Those movies are like summer camp. And this show, it was no different. It was the same group of people, coming together to make it work. And so the stunt stuff — everything is just on another level. Every show, every movie, they just push it — they push the envelope so much. So hopefully, knock on wood, we’ll be going back soon."