Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes made his MCU debut in Joe Johnston-directed 2011 movie Captain America: The First Avenger starring Chris Evans in the lead. Since the actor has reprised his character in several movies and most recently, in the post-Endgame MCU, Stan’s Barnes appeared alongside Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson in the Disney+ show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Barnes has a prolific essence to Captain America. Previously, the character was associated with Evans’ Captain America, and now the character has been complementing the new Captain America, Sam Wilson, following the event of Endgame in the MCU. The casting of Stan, however, was quite interesting.
Sebastian Stan Believed His Marvel Casting Was A Joke
Sebastian Stan had all the reasons to believe that his Marvel casting was a prank as the role of Bucky Barnes was offered to him on April Fool’s Day— certainly, a weird day for Marvel to reach out to the actor. “It was April 1, April Fool’s Day,” Stan told Variety in an interview.
“I was on set working on something and then this unknown number called me, and I don’t usually pick up unknown numbers. I kept shooting, and then, an hour or two later, I finally looked at my voicemail, clicked on it, and it was Kevin [Feige]. He was like, ‘Hey, we’re trying to reach you. Just want to let you know that we’d love to do this with you. We’d love for you to play James ‘Bucky’ Barnes. Give me a call back.’ He was very casual about it all.”
By the look of it, Stan almost lost the role as he ignored the unknown number. Thankfully, Kevin Feige left a voicemail. Otherwise, it was very unlikely that he would call back. Stan proved to be the perfect candidate for Barnes in his elegant portrayal of the character.
Will Sebastian Stan Return To MCU?
Definitely, Stan will reprise his character in MCU’s upcoming stale, Thunderbolts, but there is one bad news as well. Recently, the new Captain America star, Anthony Mackie, revealed that he was disappointed that Disney was not renewing The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. While speaking with Radio Times, Mackie revealed that the chances of their show getting another season is slim to none.
“The Falcon and [the] Winter Soldier, I really enjoyed doing that show. I was actually excited to do a second season, just so me and Sebastian [Stan] can get paid to hang out. Because it’s like me, him and Daniel Brühl. It’s kind of like the perfect storm of happiness. When they decided to go back to the movies, it is what it is, but I don’t have my friends anymore, so it kind of dampens it a little bit,” the actor said.
Mackie’s Thunderbolts appearance is also unlikely considering the proximity of his solo movie Captain America 4 with Thunderbolts. So, the duo may not reunite anytime soon. But Stan is certainly excited to return to his character, “I’m excited,” he told Variety of Thunderbolts. “I’m going to go back basically in a month or so. I’ve missed it. It’s a great cast,” Stan added. The movie is currently in production, as revealed by Florence Pugh in her recent video from the set.
Thunderbolts is scheduled for a May 5, 2025 release.
