WandaVisionis due to take the spotlight this week as it officially tackles the Disney Plus baton fromThe Mandalorian, however, with only nine scheduled episodes it won’t be long before it passes that honor ontoThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Posing a radically different approach toWandaVision’svintage sitcom-inspired plot,The Falcon and the Winter Soldierlooks more like the type traditional action-minded spectacle that MCU fans have grown accustomed to. Yet, the miniseries will probably determine something great significance for the rest of Marvel’s Phase Four journey by picking who will inherit Steve Rogers’ shield and assume the identity ofCaptain America.

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DespiteThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier’strailerteasing that as a main plot point, Anthony Mackie himself remains coy on addressing the matter directly. As ComicBook reports, Mackie relied on a technicality to rule out Sam Wilson ditching his wings for the shield by making clear that “at the end ofAvengers: Endgame, Cap decided he was going into retirement and he asked me if I would take up the shield, but at no point in time, did I agree to or say that I would be Captain America”.

It makes perfect sense for the actor to juggle past all this speculation given the Captain America role is pretty much up for grabs between Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), or even an outsider pick like John Walker (Wyatt Russell) or Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp).Steve Rogers’ retirement was one ofEndgame’smore anticipated moments, something which Mackie recalled by saying they almost went with an entirely different actor before eventually deciding to just give Chris Evans the old man Cap look.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldiertrailer showed the aftermath ofAvengers: Endgameand Sam Wilson kind of preparing to become Captain America, shield tossing training and all. However, it’s unlikely things will develop so smoothly with Helmut Zemo out on the loose andearly scenes suggestingThe Falcon and Winter Soldierduo will be doing plenty of globetrotting before the dust settles in the MCU.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldierwill be available on Disney Plus starting Jun 25, 2025.