The Falcon and the Winter Soldier fans, here’s some good news for you. Sebastian Stan has revealed that he has no current plans to exit the MCU as Bucky Barnes. In fact, he’s open to the idea of playing the character for decades to come.
Stan has been hanging around the franchise since 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, having one of the strongest arcs in the whole saga as Steve Rogers’ best pal. And it’s not over yet. While speaking on the Just For Variety podcast, he was asked how long he envisions himself playing Bucky for. The Avengers: Infinity War actor admitted that it’s not entirely his decision and depends on how long Marvel wants him, but as long as the studio keeps hiring him, he’ll keep coming back.
Again, it’s like, no idea, man. It’s not up to me. I don’t make these decisions. As long as they’ll keep calling, I’m there. I don’t know. I get old, too. Like everyone in the world, I AGE! So I don’t know what that means. Maybe it doesn’t mean anything! I have no idea. I’m just going for the ride.”
When the interview jokingly asked Stan if he could still be portraying Sergeant Barnes at 80 years old, the star surprisingly didn’t rule it out. He then opened up about how close he is to the character of Bucky at this point and how he still enjoys revisiting him even after a decade of inhabiting the role.
“May I be so lucky. It’s really quite wild, it really is. A lot of people on TV, there are shows that have gone on for so many seasons, Friends, I mean, there’s a lot of where…you get to go and play a character for such a long period of time. It’s like gaining a family member. You gain, like, a brother or something in this case for me. You get to see this character again and again, and then you’re always growing up, and they’re sort of growing up with you in a weird way.”
It’s heartening to hear that Stan has so much affection for both the role of Bucky and for being part of the MCU in general. Certain Marvel stars seem to have an endpoint in sight for their superhero careers, but it looks like Sebastian’s happy to stick around as the White Wolf for the foreseeable future. It probably helps that he’s also enjoying a healthy career outside of Marvel, too.
As for where we’ll see him next, it seems likely that Sebastian Stan will reprise Bucky in Captain America 4, once again opposite Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson.
