CinemaBlend participates in affiliate programs with various companies. We may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via links.
104 years ago, one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s greatest heroes was born. Well, he started out as a hero, then he was a brainwashed assassin for many decades, and now he’s back to saving the world in the present day. In any case, Sebastian Stan, the man who plays the Winter Soldier in the MCU, celebrated Bucky Barnes’ birthday by sharing a throwback to his time working on Captain America: Civil War.
We’ll soon be reuniting with Bucky Barnes when he teams up with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson for the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but if short-haired Bucky isn’t your jam, then you can take it back to the Captain America: Civil War days with the below picture of Sebastian Stan still rocking the long hair. The Instagram post also includes a few videos of the actor practicing fight choreography, so take a look:
With Captain America: The First Avenger chronicling the not-yet-metal-armed Bucky Barnes’ time fighting in World War II alongside Steve Rogers, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier using him as a weapon for HYDRA, Captain America: Civil War was the first movie where Winter Soldier was depicted as a protagonist. You know, outside of that brief period where his brainwashing was reactivated when Zemo said the HYDRA trigger words. Still, not only does today mark the day when Bucky was born in 1917, we also recently passed the five-year anniversary of Civil War’s release.
The point being, Captain America: Civil War was another momentous step forward in Winter Soldier’s character development. Not only did it mark the first time he and Steve Rogers got to fight side by side since World War II, but by the end of the movie, Bucky opted to go back on ice so that Wakandan scientists could remove the HYDRA programming from his brain for good. So of all of Bucky’s MCU appearances to throw back to, Civil War was a good choice from Sebastian Stan.
But Captain America: Civil War was half a decade ago, how’s Bucky Barnes been doing lately? Well, Avengers: Endgame saw him being snapped back to life with everyone else who was dusted at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Alas, shortly thereafter, he saw off Steve Rogers after learning that his friend for nearly a century had decided to stay in the past after returning the Infinity Stones and Mjolnir to their proper temporal places. Steve is now an elderly man in the present day, while Bucky still has many youthful years ahead of him.
Which brings us to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson must learn to get along as crimefighting partners as they tangle with the returning Baron Helmut Zemo and the Flag-Smashers. In addition to Daniel Brühl reprising the former role, the Disney+ series will also see the return of Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter, Don Cheadle’s War Machine and Georges St-Pierre’s Georges Batroc, while the newcomers include Wyatt Russel’s John Walker, Erin Kellyman’s Karli Morgenthau and Adepero Oduye’s Sarah Wilson, among others. Whether Sebastian Stan will ever reprise Winter Soldier on the big screen remains to be seen, but at least starting March 18, you’ll get to see him in action alongside his winged co-star for six episodes.
If you’re not subscribed to Disney+, you’re welcome to rectify that by using this link so you’ll be ready for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s premiere. For those interested in the MCU’s upcoming cinematic offerings, keep track of them with our Marvel movies guide.
