As the final solitary Marvel movie to precede Avengers: Infinity War, the post-credits scenes of Black Panther were always going to be the subject of heated debate.
And sure enough, ever since the film’s U.S. launch on February 16th, enthused fans have pored over both after-credits stingers in an attempt to decipher what they mean for T’Challa and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in general.
The first is relatively routine, as it shows the moment when Chadwick Boseman’s new-fangled king begins sharing Wakanda’s incredible resources with the rest of the world. But the second credits scene is where things really get interesting, as we see Bucky Barnes being nursed on the road to recovery. He’s come on in leaps and bounds, too, but according to Nate Moore, the seasoned Marvel producer behind Black Panther, that second post-credits tease almost left Bucky with a new arm in time for Infinity War.
We also wanted to hint at, ‘OK he’s fixed?’ What does that mean going forward? We do have this little film called Avengers: Infinity War coming up. We wanted to have Bucky back and up and around, because he will have a role to play in that film.
Of course, those of you who have already seen the first teaser for Avengers: Infinity War will know that Bucky is equipped with his signature bionic arm to help fend off Thanos, the Black Order, and those nasty Outriders. But it seems Sebastian Stan’s former Winter Soldier was almost given his new prosthetic ahead of time:
We did discuss [giving him a new arm]. There was a version when it was in, there was a version where it was out. The truth was, he felt more human when he wasn’t whole in Winter Soldier. He could just be Bucky and that’s why I think it was important for him as a character to go, ‘not Sergeant Barnes, my name’s Bucky. I am a person, I am no longer a soldier’.
The fully-recovered Bucky Barnes will feature quite prominently when Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters in two months’ time. Two months, people!
Published: Mar 1, 2018 10:57 am