Avengers: Endgame‘s surprising ending saw Steve Rogers pass the mantle of Captain America to his comrade, Sam Wilson/Falcon. After Tony’s funeral, Steve goes back in (alternate) time to put back all the Infinity Stones where they came from. When he returns, he’s an old man. We see a wedding ring, implying that he spent a good life with the woman of his dreams. Then Steve passes his iconic Vibranium shield to Sam Wilson as Bucky Barnes looks on and nods in approval.
The question is, when will we see Sam Wilson in action as Captain America? The Disney Plus series Falcon & Winter Soldier which is set to stream next year would seem like the most likely scenario. However, there was a point when Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and creative executive Eric Carroll considered including Falcon as Captain America in Spider-Man: Far From Home. In an interview with ComicBook.com, Carroll said:
“We briefly talked about bringing in Falcon as Captain America at the end, like maybe once Peter’s arced, and he’s sort of like leading the team, like maybe he calls in a favor. But we also thought it was really important to the arc of this movie that there not be other Avengers available to Nick Fury or Peter, so he’d have to step up and do it himself. Ultimately, Spider-Man: Far From Home is Spider-Man’s journey, whether any other heroes appear in it or not.”
Kevin Feige feels the same way too. He added:
“It’s all about Peter stepping up. And Peter getting out of the shadow, not just of Tony but of the Avengers in general. Because by the way, he’s Spider-Man. He doesn’t need to be in the shadow of the Avengers. So other than Maria, and Nick, and Happy, and the emotional presence of Tony… You hear, he asks about Thor. He asks about Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel.”
As much fun as crossovers are, I can’t help but agree with Feige and Carroll. After the bombastic mega-crossover event that was Avengers: Endgame, it would be great to see a smaller, more focused film in Spider-Man: Far From Home. One that centres around a singular character and his journey. I’m very intrigued to see Falcon as Captain America, but there’s no need to rush.
