Sebastian Stan has explained why Sam Wilson/Falcon gets top billing over his character, Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, in Marvel Studios' The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series.
"Y'know, first of all, I've already had my name in a title of a movie," Stan told BBC Radio 1, referring to 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. "Arguably, Falcon, we haven't really ever learned his backstory -- period." Stan went on to point out there have technically been two Marvel Cinematic Universe films dedicated to Bucky, including 2016's Captain America: Civil War. "So, in a way, I feel like [The Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV show] really should be about the Falcon."
Anthony Mackie made his MCU debut as Sam/Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, assisting Steve Rogers as he discovered S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by Hydra. The character has appeared in multiple MCU films since then, but it wasn't until The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's premiere that audiences met his sister, Sarah, and learned more about his backstory, beyond his experiences as a former U.S. Air Force pararescueman. By comparison, 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger introduced Bucky as Steve's best friend growing up in the first half of the 20th century, decades before his transformation into the Winter Soldier.
Although Civil War examined the ways Bucky was controlled by Hydra to serve as an assassin, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has continued to explore the character's past as he tries to recover from the trauma of his experiences as the Winter Soldier. All the same, the show has primarily focused on Sam so far, including his struggle to stay afloat financially despite being an Avenger and his conflicted feelings about Steve passing the responsibility of being Captain America over to him in Avengers: Endgame. Sam's feelings on the subject have only grown more complicated since then, between the U.S. government making John Walker the new Cap after Sam handed Steve's shield over to them and Sam learning about Isaiah Bradley, a Black super soldier who was imprisoned and experimented on by the government for decades.
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. New episodes debut on Fridays on Disney+.
Source: YouTube