Bucky Barnes is the first character we see perish in the climactic ‘Snappening’ of Avengers: Infinity War, but going by Sebastian Stan’s recent statements on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the actor was among the last on set to know about it.
When Kimmel asked the star how he found out that he was among the heroes to turn to dust at the end of Anthony and Joe Russo’s last film, Stan recalled a confusing experience on the day of filming.
“Well, I really didn’t. It was actually my stunt man James Young who told me on set that day. He was like, ‘Alright mate, well we’re gonna have this mat and then you’re gonna fall.’ And then I was, ‘Fall where?’ And then he was like, ‘You know, you’re falling – ‘cause the thing. It’s the air.’ He never, like, completed his sentences.”
Still uncertain about what was in store for his character, Stan decided to ask the Russo Brothers, and if you’ve been paying attention to this filmmaking pair’s social media activity lately, you’ll know that straightforward, unambiguous answers aren’t really their thing.
“So I went up to Anthony and I said, ‘Anthony, what’s happening?’ He said, ‘Talk to Joe.’ So I went up to Joe and I said, ‘Hey Joe, What’s going on?’ He goes, ‘Did you talk to Anthony?’”
Eventually, Stan somehow managed to get a clear picture of Bucky’s fate, and the result was the first death in arguably the most talked-about sequence of any film this year. The Russo Brothers have previously mentioned that they intended for this to be an especially tragic moment by having Steve Rogers present to see it.
“In terms of our choices about who Thanos would end up eradicating with his snap, you know it was very story focused. How do we pay off each individual character’s storyline most profoundly? The first person to go is Bucky Barnes, and it’s shot from Captain America’s perspective. You know we’re watching Cap go through the experience of watching him go away.”
While things didn’t end too well for the Winter Solider at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, the recent announcement that he and Falcon have their own TV show in the works makes it clear that Stan’s run as Bucky is far from over. In fact, there’s even been some speculation that the character will be the next to assume the title of Captain America, though the actor was quick to downplay such an idea during his Kimmel appearance.
In any case, it looks like we’ll probably be seeing Bucky once more when Avengers 4 comes out on May 3rd, 2019, at which point, he just might be the one to watch Steve go.