Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that the Winter Soldier has become one of the most important characters in the MCU. He was central to the events in the mega-blockbuster Captain America: Civil War, and was part of the movie’s biggest action sequences which earned him some props from Spider-Man, who was amazed by the glory of his metal arm (so he has that going for him). Now, the question is this: when will we see the Winter Soldier again?
[Answering this question inevitably leads to spoilers for Captain America: Civil War. If, for some reason, you have yet to see it, you may want to refrain from reading the entire article since there will be spoilers for the ending.]
The obvious answer would be Avengers: Infinity War, when the whole gang gets back together to take out a certain Mad Titan. However, the Winter Soldier himself, Sebastian Stan, has his own idea on when his character should reemerge. During a Q&A at Wizard World in Philadelphia, Stan was asked when he would like to see Bucky Barnes wake from his cryogenic sleep again. Our friends at Comicbook.com were there to catch his answer.
“I don’t know, man. I mean, there’s obviously a very clear answer but I’m not maybe [supposed to] say it, now. Where did he end up at the end of the movie? That’s the movie he should be in. I feel like that would be the natural… But I don’t know.”
In case you bolted out of of the theater before the post-credits sequences (in which case… What is wrong with you!!??!), you missed out on an important scene. We saw Bucky Barnes talk with Captain America about his desire to go into a deep freeze. It turned out Barnes’ new frozen hideout was in Wakanda, home of the Black Panther. Once his enemy, T’Challa has become the protector of the Winter Soldier.
When predicting a Winter Soldier cameo, it’s easy to connect the dots to the upcoming Black Panther movie. T’Challa is going to have his hands full with the rumored characters he might have to take on; Ulysses Klaue, Erik Killmonger, Man-Ape and White Wolf could all be obstacles for the Wakandan King. Black Panther might need some help, so it makes sense that he might defrost Barnes if things so south.
Still, there has to be another option where Sebastian Stan can use up his nine-picture Marvel deal. He has six more movies to go, so if any character is going to pop up here and there, it would be James Buchanan Barnes. Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Homecoming; there are so many options for a quick Winter Soldier cameo. If it was up to me, I would make sure Marvel considered the next “cameo scenario.”
The Winter Soldier should get involved in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Stay with me here. I don’t know how he would end up in space… maybe Ravagers, or whatever. I’ll trust Kevin Feige to figure that part out. But once Barnes is wandering around space, we can see him connect with Cosmo the Spacedog (you might remember him as part of the Collector’s hoarding problem). Then we can have “a man and his dog” spinoff film with The Winter Soldier and Cosmo: SPACE COMMUNISTS! Too much of a stretch? Fine. But admit it, you’d be excited if Marvel was releasing a movie about Barnes and a telepathic dog traveling around space. The MCU can do no wrong!!!
The door is open for plenty of opportunities for the Winter Soldier to show up once again. The best part? Sebastian Stan seems happy to head back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe whenever he’s asked. Should he turn up in Black Panther, fans will be ecstatic. Still, if we have to wait until Infinity War, I’m sure the end result will be just as satisfying.
