Avengers 4 Theory: 10 Clues Bucky Will Take Over As Captain America

8. Stan's Been Reading For The Role

Marvel Comics/Steve Epting

When actors take on a role that's already been depicted elsewhere, research is vital. When it comes to Marvel Comics specifically, that research becomes even more important - a fact Sebastian Stan is all too aware of.

Speaking to BUILD (via ScreenRant) last week alongside Infinity War directors Anthony and Joe Russo, the actor spoke of the potential for a Bucky-led Captain America film, and his comments could potentially have clued us in on where the series is headed next.

During the audience Q&A session, Stan noted how, "in the comic books... it was always interesting because there’s an emotional turmoil - there was a guilt there that was driving for me, a character, because, because it’s Steve’s absence, you know. It sort of felt like the guy had to once again carry on this you know vision that his best friend had for years and what he stood for."

What Stan does here is encapsulate pretty much the entire opening arc of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting's seminal 'Death of Captain America' storyline from the comics. Given how that particular run has factored heavily into the MCU's interpretation of the character, with Winter Soldier in particular having adapted intricate details from that arc (Brubaker himself also had a cameo), could it be that Stan is reading up on a storyline that'll inspire the proceeding steps of the character's journey?

It would make a lot of sense, especially since most MCU actors rarely reference intricate details from the source-material, even if they end up being factored into their performance in one way or another.

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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.