Cast your mind back to the summer of 2019, when Marvel boss Kevin Feige brought Hall H to its feet in announcing MCU Phase 4, and you’ll remember the palpable excitement swirling around Loki, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and all of the many superhero shows headed to Disney+.
No longer will Marvel’s film and TV entities exist on two separate tracks; instead, the likes of WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are designed to expand the horizons of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a franchise so big that you’re never too far away from the next MCU release.
That title currently belongs to the standalone Black Widow movie, which is due to hit theaters in May of this year. It’ll then be followed by The Eternals, a cosmic epic unlike any MCU title before it. But sandwiched in between those two heavy-hitters is The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a spinoff series that will reportedly draft the Thunderbolts into Marvel’s juggernaut franchise.
Word comes to us by way of superhero sleuth Daniel Richtman (h/t MCU Cosmic), who claims that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will finally usher Thunderbolt Ross’ super-powered team into the MCU. It’s no secret that the Thunderbolts have long been rumored for some sort of role in the Marvel Universe (it’s really a question of when, rather than if), and the fact that Baron Zemo has been confirmed for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier only adds fuel to the fire.
Perhaps he’ll be responsible for assembling the Thunderbolts? We’ll have to keep a close eye on Marvel’s casting efforts over the coming weeks to identify any potential clues.
One thing’s for sure:Â The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is slated to premiere via Disney+ later this year.
