The showrunner for Marvel's upcoming The Falcon and the Winter Soldier explained how real-world issues, including Black Lives Matter and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, manifest on the show.
Marcus Spellman, the head writer and showrunner of the Disney+ series that will follow WandaVision on the streaming service, spoke with SFX Magazine about bringing more of the Black experience into the world of superheroes. It's already been teased that the show will deal with uncomfortable issues, and Spellman said the ongoing work of the Black Lives Matter movement and its fight against police brutality is a part of that tapestry.
"It's funny, because if someone asked me, 'In a million years, could you have ever predicted what was going on?' I'm like, 'Yeah, I’m black,'" Spellman said. "We are uniquely qualified to diagnose this country and have a sense of where it's going. And Nate [Moore] is black and he's one of [Marvel Studios'] most senior execs, so he was the perfect partner for me."
Spellman, who previously worked on Empire, is referring to Nate Moore, the Marvel producer behind Black Panther, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. Together, along with director Kari Skogland, they'll explore what it means for a Black hero to wield the shield of Captain America. But the current pandemic will also have an analog in the "Blip," the in-universe name for Thanos' snap. The show, like WandaVision, will deal with the fallout of half the Earth's population disappearing and then returning five years later.
"There's no hiding from the fact that four billion people in the MCU disappeared for five years, and then came back. And our show picks up from there and directly talks about what the world feels like to be in flux and dealing with one global issue," Spellman said. "When the pandemic hits, and the entire planet has to come together and deal with it, the synergy there is perfect.
"The same thing with the issues of a black man confronting that shield," he continued. "The stories have been out there. They've been in our face forever. There's no avoiding it, and Marvel doesn't ask you to avoid it. What they do ask you to do is never burden the storytelling. Let the storytelling be energetic and fun and aspirational, and within that, be honest and be truthful."
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. The series premieres March 19 on Disney+.
Source: SFX Magazine via Gamesradar