Many fans had a feeling that Captain America (Chris Evans) wouldn't make it out of AVENGERS: ENDGAME alive, but by the end of the film, Steve Rogers actually got to live a full life alongside Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) thanks to a little time-travel. The final scenes found an elderly Steve Rogers passing along his shield to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) aka Falcon, and not to Bucky (Sebastian Stan), as many expected him to.
While speaking with THR, Sebastian Stan gave his thoughts on why Steve Rogers didn't pass on the mantle of Captain America to his best friend. According to the actor, Steve gave Bucky the best gift he could – a life.
Like anybody that ends up traumatized by a war experience, [Bucky] was affected by it for the rest of his life. So, what felt like a desire there was for a restart — for him and for Steve in a way. It didn’t necessarily feel like the shield was gonna be that. Steve going back in time and saying, “I’m gonna take something for me now. I’ve been here for all these guys, and I’ve done the best I could. I’m just a man, and I’m going to go back and try to live my life.” I feel that is something that Bucky would want for his best friend, and at the same time, Steve is saying to Bucky, “You’re going to go and do that, too. I’m not going to put this thing on you. We’re both going to live our lives — the lives that were actually taken from us back in the ‘40s when we enlisted.” So, that’s where I felt they were at the end of the movie. I don’t think there’s a desire or any conflicted thoughts about taking on that mantle. Sam, to me, was always the clear man to take on that mantle for numerous reasons, which also comes with so much more baggage that’s going to be explored in the show. I guess you’ll have to tune into Disney+ to find out why. (Laughs.) At the end of Endgame, for either Steve or Bucky, it’s really not about the shield.
Speaking of Disney+, The Falcon and the Winter Solider will be continuing the adventures of Sam and Bucky, and Sebastian Stan said that they were about two or three weeks out from completing production on the series before COVID-19 forced them to shutdown. Stan added that the series is tonally very close to CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, as it's "grounded and very much in the world as we know it" but that it's also "jam-packed wit a lot of massive, massive action scenes mixed with deep focus on character." Stan continued: "That’s what’s really exciting about this. We’re getting to keep it in the world of the movies, so it’s recognizable that way, but at the same time, these characters are getting so much more mileage for all of us to explore them. We can put them in situations that we’ve never been able to put them in before because you now have six hours as opposed to two. It’s always a discovery."
Prior to the shutdown, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is expected to debut on Disney+ in August 2020, but it remains to be seen if and when the premiere will be pushed back.