Avengers 4 Theory: 10 Clues Bucky Will Take Over As Captain America
10. Sebastian Stan's Contract
Marvel Studios
When it comes to predicting the layout of the MCU's future, contracts prove to be a vital tool. This isn't to say that they can predict the beats of the films down to a T (Robert Downey Jr.'s is extended on a film by film basis), but they can give us an idea of how integral characters are in the MCU writer's room.
When he signed on for Captain America: The First Avenger, Sebastian Stan also signed a nine (yes, nine) picture deal with Marvel Studios. Avengers 4 will mark his fourth appearance in the franchise should he genuinely return, and, though it could be argued that contracts 'spoil' what's to come, we know not yet what form those remaining five films will take - if they even do at all.
What is clear is that Marvel were planning for the future when Stan signed on, and that agreeing to a nine picture deal is a huge investment.
Bucky Barnes has already proven to be an integral aspect of the franchise as well, and with the character having adopted increasing prominence in each successive appearance, Avengers 4 could be the perfect place to make the next jump in the character's overarching journey.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
