Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier season finale.
The new Captain America is going to fly high on the big screen.
Just hours after the airing of the season finale of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel announced that showrunner Malcolm Spellman will be working on a fourth Captain America film.
This means Sam Wilson’s tenure as the new Captain America is just beginning.
The Falcon takes flight
The season finale began with the Flag Smashers leading an attack on the United Nations conference to stop a vote on sending refugees during “The Blip” back to their home countries.
As the attack went on, Sam Wilson joined in, now clad in a new suit as Captain America. Meanwhile, Bucky moved in with a disguised Sharon Carter.
Sam not only fought off Batroc but saved the lives of some police officers in front of cheering crowds and cameras.
John Walker attacked, now using a homemade shield against Karli but stopped his quest for revenge to help Bucky and Sam save a van of civilians in danger.
Karli and Sharon had a confrontation confirming Sharon was the Power Broker all along. When Batroc threatened to reveal the truth, Sharon shot him dead. Sam tried to talk Karli down, but she wanted to kill him before Sharon shot her.
This drives Sam to make a powerful speech to the GRC and in front of cameras to say Karli’s methods were flawed, but her message was supported and daring the GRC to use their power to help the world rather than go back to a pre-Blip status quo.
The Aftermath
In the aftermath of the attack, the remaining Flag Smashers were rounded up, but the van exploded, courtesy of Zemo’s butler with Zemo in his prison cell smiling at the news.
Countess Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) was with Walker’s wife, teasing how she planned this. Enter Walker, his costume now darker with Val announcing the country “needs a U.S. Agent.”
As Bucky confessed to his neighbor that he had killed the man’s son as Winter Soldier, Sam went to see Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) and showed him a great gift: A new branch of the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian that finally tells of Isaiah’s heroism, complete with a statue for his legacy.
The final scene has Sam and Bucky in New Orleans, standing together and ready to fight as the show’s title was changed to “Captain America and the Winter Soldier.”
The post-credit scene showed Sharon at a hearing, getting both a pardon and back in the service. As she left, Sharon talked on the phone to someone about how they now had access to government secrets and prototypes they can use for their mission.
Malcolm Spellman and Captain America 4
While fans were hopeful that a second season of the show could be coming, the idea of continuing it on the big screen with writer Malcolm Spellman is more exciting.
With Sam now established as Captain America, he will jump into some epic adventures, and Bucky as his partner will be a great aid.
There may also be the possibility Joaquin (Danny Ramirez) follows his comic book counterpart in becoming Sam’s replacement as the Falcon.
Yet there are some dangling threads, the biggest being the confirmation that Sharon is the Power Broker. Just what drove her to change into this criminal mastermind and who she was talking to on that phone call may play into other Marvel projects such as Secret Invasion.
Meanwhile, Val’s involvement is crucial as her recruiting Walker as U.S. Agent shows she has her own agenda. The producers have stated the character will play a major role in future projects.
Zemo is still in prison, but the possibility he may have a role to play in the future as Daniel Bruhl transformed the character into a surprising fan favorite.
This indicates Marvel may be laying the seeds for the Thunderbolts, the semi-reformed pack of villains who are basically the MU answer to the Suicide Squad.
There’s also how, in the comics, Isaiah’s grandson, Eli, becomes the heroic Patriot of the Young Avengers, a project Marvel also appears to be setting up with Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop in Hawkeye.
While the sequel is still in the early stages, this shows how the MCU uses their TV shows to set up the big-screen adventures and that Sam Wilson as Captain America is going to be soaring into movie theaters even better than on the small screen.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier season 1 now streaming on Disney+.