Marvel Needs To Fulfill Sebastian Stan's Winter Soldier Dream After The Thunderbolts*

By Severina Chu

Published Oct 19, 2024

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Bucky has had a long but rewarding journey of redemption.

The events of Thunderbolts* will show Bucky being the closest thing to an antagonist since The Winter Soldier. He’s always been a morally complicated character, even after his recovery from brainwashing, which is what makes him perfect for the Thunderbolts team. Even though he was considered the antagonist of Captain America 2, it’s hard to really consider him a villain because of his tragic history and lack of free will. Fans didn’t get a full idea of Bucky’s time becoming the Winter Soldier, but Stan’s Winter Soldier regret could potentially come to fruition as a future MCU project.

Sebastian Stan Regrets Not Spending More Time As The Winter Soldier

Stan elaborated on his time as the Winter Soldier in an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz. He mentions that Captain America: The Winter Soldier was his personal favorite project and that he wishes that they explored more of the actual Winter Soldier character. Stan also brings up the fact that Bucky wasn’t as completely brainwashed in the comics as he was in the films, having moments where his memories came back to him. Fans are shown some moments of that in Bucky’s current MCU history, but the scenes weren’t very prominent.

The Winter Soldier reveal in Captain America 2 remains one of the MCU’s most tense moments as Steve is caught completely off guard. Though Bucky is the key to that film, the actual Winter Soldier assassin scenes were rushed because the focus was on Steve and HYDRA’s downfall. Some later projects did touch on Bucky’s assassin past, such as Captain America: Civil War and The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, but the focus was on Bucky’s redemption and recovery from his trauma. As Stan expressed, there wasn’t actually much time dedicated to the Winter Soldier’s actual life as an assassin.

Bucky's MCU Future Needs To Explore His Past More

Bucky Barnes aiming his gun in Thunderbolts*

Stan has had a long tenure as Bucky in the MCU, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Thunderbolts* was his last appearance. However, if he does return after the film, a prequel exploring the Winter Soldier’s early years would be too good of an idea to turn down. Bucky is such a loved character that there is definitely an audience for that project, and it would be something that Stan himself seems ionate about. Unlike Black Widow where the timing for her solo film felt off, a Winter Soldier prequel project feels isolated enough at this point in the MCU.

Comic book art of Bucky Winter Solider next to Sebastian Stan as the Winter Solider.

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There is so much potential for a Winter Soldier prequel project. Bucky’s years as the Winter Soldier were greatly summarized in his MCU appearances, and it would be interesting to have a film or show that puts fans in Bucky’s point of view during his transformation. From the moment he woke up from his near-death fall to the first time he regained some consciousness after his brainwashing, a Winter Soldier prequel would add some incredible depth to Bucky’s character, no matter what the character goes through in Thunderbolts*.