Ikaris, one of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe characters introduced in Eternals, is causing some confusion among fans calling him a near mirror image of Bucky Barnes, co-hero of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.Bucky, played by Sebastian Stan, was originally introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger. Steve Rogers' best friend and fellow soldier, Bucky was apparently killed in action but later returned as the brainwashed antagonist of Captain America's next solo film, The Winter Soldier. Redeemed and rehabilitated in further MCU appearances, Bucky most recently featured in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier alongside Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson. For all that long history, though, nobody seemed to notice his resemblance to Ikaris actor Richard Madden -- until now.Prior to his casting as Ikaris, Madden was best known for playing Robb, the oldest Stark brother in the first three seasons of HBO's epic fantasy series Game of Thrones. As familiar an actor as he is, the difference in his hair and costuming for his MCU role seems to have brought his appearance closer to that of Stan as Bucky, and some fans are now claiming that they can't even tell the two apart.
A variety of social media posts have cropped up expressing confusion about who plays Ikaris and/or Bucky, sharing side-by-side comparison photos, and calling the two actors "long lost brothers."
Some have even said that they thought there was meant to be an in-universe connection between the characters -- made all the more possible by Ikaris' immortality and the Eternals' status as constructs designed by a Celestial. The MCU has plentiful opportunities for a supernatural explanation of two characters having identical bodies, and with the plot of Eternals already seen as hard to follow by some fans, the addition of a character who looks oddly familiar must have made it especially confusing.
So far, neither Madden nor Stan has remarked on their similar looks or the MCU fandom's reaction to them. However, the ending of Eternals means that it's unlikely Ikaris will be seen again any time soon, so audiences can at least assume that the next time they see a certain facial structure in the MCU, it's probably Stan as Bucky.
To personally research just how alike Bucky Barnes is to Ikaris, both Eternals and Season 1 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are available to stream on Disney+.