With next year’s Avengers 4 widely predicted to be Chris Evans’ final outing in the role of Captain America, the fans have been busy speculating on who, if anyone, could be taking up the title next, and while John Cena may or may not be interested in picking up the shield, Steve Rogers’ oldest friend Buck Barnes has long been held up as a likely candidate. Actor Sebastian Stan, however, is giving nothing away on the matter.
When the Avengers: Infinity War star appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host rightly pointed out that Bucky assumes the Captain America identity in the comic books, before asking Stan if this is a direction that’s ever been discussed with him. The actor then claimed that this wasn’t the case:
“No, not really, no. You know, it’s usually like a dream. People might mention something but we never go that way.”
In the spoiler-conscious world of Marvel Studios, an official ‘no’ could always turn into a ‘yes’ over time, but with the recent announcement that Falcon and Winter Soldier will be getting their own small-screen spinoff series, it no longer seems so likely that either Bucky or his friend Sam Wilson will be the next Cap.
So, if not these two, then who? Well, if you’re looking for further clues, Frank Grillo recently relayed rumors that the next Cap could be black or female, but seeing how the star of Captain America: The Winter Soldier has been known for his false intel lately, these claims should probably be taken with a pretty big grain of salt.
In fact, as likely as it seems that our current Captain America will soon be departing the MCU, we’ve yet to hear any official confirmation, so perhaps Evans will surprise us all when Avengers 4 hits theaters on May 3rd, 2019. We wouldn’t count on it, though.
