Home News

Sebastian Stan Says No One Was Interested In Bucky Until He Became Winter Soldier

Sebastian Stan has been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for almost a decade now, and has seen his character undergo a serious transformation in the process. Bucky Barnes was first introduced as Steve Rogers' best friend in World War II-set origin story Captain America: The First Avenger, before being brought back as brainwashed super-assassin the Winter Soldier in the sequel of the same name, before once again joining the forces of good and fighting side-by-side with the Avengers in both Infinity War and Endgame.

Sebastian Stan in Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Sebastian Stan has been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for almost a decade now, and has seen his character undergo a serious transformation in the process. Bucky Barnes was first introduced as Steve Rogers’ best friend in World War II-set origin story Captain America: The First Avenger, before being brought back as brainwashed super-assassin the Winter Soldier in the sequel of the same name, before once again joining the forces of good and fighting side-by-side with the Avengers in both Infinity War and Endgame.

Recommended Videos

Now, Bucky will headline the first Disney Plus TV show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside Sam Wilson in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, cementing Stan’s reputation as one of the long-running franchise’s premiere fan favorites. However, the actor admitted in a recent interview that he felt like it took a long time for Bucky to be accepted by the fans as a key part of the MCU, and that people initially didn’t seem to interested that he was part of the series at all.

“I actually played this character for at least two, three years before I felt like people noticed. I mean, The First Avenger, nobody was stopping me on the street. I just treated it like any other character. I just wanted to honor the source material, and what Stan Lee had envisioned, and I was really lucky to have met him, and for him to kind of remind me: ‘Whatever you’re doing, just remember he’s a good guy.’ Because the Winter Soldier thing is kinda fun, but the guy inside is a good guy. But the MCU differs a little bit here and there, so we had to kind of adjust to that, and in the movie, Bucky Barnes was actually sort of a cooler guy and whatever. And that’s where we ended up today.”

Bucky’s arc is set to continue on the small screen, and while no plot specifics have been revealed as of yet, the 37 year-old hinted that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set to go in some unexpected directions.

“I have seen scripts and I’m excited about it. It’s going to be so cool and kind of crazy. All I can say is it’s just new and different from what you’ve seen so far. I mean, it will totally be in line with everything that has happened and what we’ve seen and so on, but these characters are getting such additional mileage in terms of learning about who they are now, what they feel, what they’re thinking, and there’s a lot of action, comedy – you know there’s going to be comedy. I feel like you’re going to be happy. I think you’re going to be very happy. And there’s some crazy stuff, like stuff you don’t see coming from anywhere.”

Stan is certainly right, as the burgeoning buddy movie dynamic between Bucky and Sam has plenty of mileage left, and will no doubt be one of the pillars on which the entire show is built. The star has great on-screen chemistry with Anthony Mackie, too, and the two leading men will be comfortable handling the demands of carrying such a high-profile project when The Falcon and the Winter Soldier hits Disney Plus next year.