The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will feature the return of both Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, but so far we’ve mostly heard about what Sam will be up to in the show. After all, Falcon is the one to have been given Captain America’s shield in Avengers: Endgame and we know he’ll have to fight for his place as Steve Rogers’ successor in the face of the government choosing their own in U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell).
So, what will Bucky’s arc in the Disney Plus miniseries be? Well, this apparently unassuming new image may hint at where we can expect the character to go. Stan recently shared the following pic on his Instagram story and it appears to show a grimy window with graffiti scrawled all over it. The piece at the top reads “WHITE WOLF,” which will ring bells for anyone who’s been keeping up with Bucky’s development across the MCU so far.
Back in the Black Panther post-credits scene, it was revealed that Bucky had been cured of his HYDRA mental conditioning and had been resting in Wakanda. When Shuri came to fetch him, the local children were playing with him, calling him “White Wolf.” In his following appearance in Avengers: Infinity War, King T’Challa used the name to describe him as well.
This suggested to fans that this was going to be Bucky’s official new codename. However, then the title of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was revealed and we all assumed Marvel had decided against the idea. Now, though, it seems that the title may’ve been deliberately chosen to reference how both heroes will choose different aliases by the end of the series. Sam will hopefully become the new Captain America, while Bucky casts off his dark past as the Winter Soldier and rebrands himself as the White Wolf.
Also starring Daniel Bruhl’s Baron Zemo and Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is due out on the streaming service this August.
