Looks Like The Winter Soldier Won’t Be A Part Of Black Panther After All

You’ll have to wait until the release of Avengers: Infinity War before catching another glimpse of Bucky Barnes on the big screen.

At least, that’s according to Sebastian Stan, who spoke to Good Morning America (via CBM) about his immediate future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and why it doesn’t include Black Panther. Joined by MCU stalwart Anthony Mackie, who is poised to reprise the role of Sam Wilson (AKA Falcon) for Infinity War, Stan went on record to confirm that the Winter Soldier has zero screen time in Ryan Coogler’s standalone pic. And that’s despite Barnes being granted asylum in Wakanda at the tail-end of Captain America: Civil War.

Locked away and put under cryogenic sleep – with his permission, of course – one might assume that because the Winter Soldier has taken up residence in Wakanda, Sebastian Stan’s glowering anti-hero would swing by for a cameo appearance in Black Panther. Not so.

There’s a chance Stan is leading budding fans down a false path in fear of spoiling anything ahead of time, but all signs point to Bucky Barnes remaining on the sidelines until Thanos descends upon Earth baying for blood. That immense power struggle will seemingly bleed into Avengers 4, too, at which point Marvel will be ready to jump-start Phase 4 of its grand cinematic universe.

Per GMA, here’s what Sebastian Stan had to say about those Black Panther rumors:

Winter Solider/Bucky Barnes is NOT in @theblackpanther according to Sebastian Stan.#BlackPanther #InfinityWar #D23expo pic.twitter.com/KwP5AJKN3E

— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 16, 2017

Championed as a “big, operatic family drama” and a film that pays tribute to both James Bond and The Godfather, Black Panther has been slated for release on February 16th, 2018. Nipping at the heels of EW’s exhaustive coverage – from character portraits to insightful interviews, it’s all here – it seems safe to assume that Marvel will strike while the iron is piping hot to showcase new footage from Coogler’s spinoff ahead of its launch next year. Thor: Ragnarok is already on the roll call, so perhaps there’s still room for T’Challa? Time will tell.