The Falcon & the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman is now working on Captain America 4 with Marvel Studios - and here are the lessons he needs to learn from the Disney+ series. Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe looks and feels so very different to what has gone before. For one thing, the modern MCU is a transmedia initiative where stories move from big screen to small screen, and back again.
Fans now know that's the case with Sam Wilson's Captain America. Sam was given the shield in the final scenes of Avengers: Endgame, but even there he told Steve Rogers it felt "like it's someone else's." Falcon & Winter Soldier was essentially the story of how Sam came to accept his new identity, while acknowledging the complexity of Captain America's legacy. Malcolm Spellman, head writer and showrunner of Falcon & Winter Soldier, is now confirmed to be working on a script for Captain America 4 with Dalan Musson, a staff writer who was also attached to the show. It's safe to assume there'll be a straight narrative throughline and character arc, although it's worth remembering specific plot threads - such as Sharon Carter's Power Broker - could well be picked up in other Marvel properties first.
Falcon & Winter Soldier became the most popular series in the world, but that doesn't mean it was perfect. Spellman would do well to reflect both on what worked and what didn't in order to ensure Captain America 4 is a worthy successor to the legacy of the Captain America films, which have been some of the best in Marvel history.
It's safe to assume Captain America 4 will focus on Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson, who has officially succeeded Steve Rogers as the next Captain America. But it should also feature Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes; Wilson and Stan are both tremendous actors, and Falcon & Winter Soldier was at its best when it allowed the two to play off one another. Sam and Bucky were initially only associates because they had a friend in common, but Steve's absence has meant they've bonded and become friends in and of themselves. That friendship really needs to continue, and on the big screen too. Meanwhile, there would be a smart thematic inversion in seeing Sam headline the franchise, with Bucky serving as backup; Phase 1 of the MCU was critiqued for frequently having white main heroes with Black sidekicks (Iron Man and War Machine, Captain America and Falcon), so this would turn that idea on its head.
The best Marvel superhero stories are grounded in their characters' worlds. Classic Spider-Man tales are as much about Peter Parker's love life and struggle to look after Aunt May as they are about his web-slinging; Tony Stark's battle with alcoholism and sometimes-desperate attempts to keep his businesses afloat are as much a part of his story as his suiting up as Iron Man. Falcon & Winter Soldier suggests Spellman understands that truth on an almost instinctive level, because he spent so much time developing Sam Wilson's personal world. Viewers got to meet members of Sam's family, to learn their history, and to enjoy watching Sam interact with his nephews. Even more amusingly, Bucky soon found himself drawn into Sam's world as well, and seemed to quite enjoy flirting with his sister.
Captain America 4 needs to be grounded in Sam's personal life, continuing to develop the new Captain America as a three-dimensional person who exists in a specific cultural context. This is necessary to ensure viewers have a strong relationship with Sam, that they appreciate him as a character rather than just a shield-slinging Avenger, and it will also help distinguish Sam from his predecessor. Steve Rogers was a man who was forced to give up his personal world in order to become Captain America; he sacrificed himself in Captain America: The First Avenger, found a new context working with SHIELD but had to bring them down, and ultimately tore apart the Avengers because of his refusal to compromise. Sam should feel the same tension, the pull between being Captain America and being Sam Wilson, but he should contrast with Steve in that he attempts to find a balance. That would give us a Captain America story like nothing we have seen before.
Falcon & Winter Soldier may have been enjoyable, but sadly it was flawed. The scripts were absolutely packed with good ideas; the secret legacy of Captain America, historic racial prejudice and racism in modern America, the plight of refugees, even the potential for a debate on the very nature of American self-identity by contrasting Sam Wilson with John Walker. Unfortunately, there's a sense in which there were simply too many ideas, and as a result few of them were well-developed over the course of the series. The show felt like it had a lot to say, but it never quite managed to say it, in spite of Sam's speeches and sermons in episode 6. Worse still, sometimes the messages was muddled and even problematic, particularly around John Walker.
Captain America 4 is a movie, meaning it will have a much shorter runtime. That actually bodes well for Spellman, because it means a lot of ideas and themes will wind up cut in order to streamline the narrative. Spellman will need to carefully consider what themes are particularly important, and what messages he wants viewers to pick up on. The shorter length should mean the narrative winds up being a lot tighter.
The final issue Spellman needs to deal with is a more subtle one; he needs to avoid over-signposting. In narrative terms, a signpost is a hint that helps you perceive which direction a story is going to take. Falcon & Winter Soldier suffered from serious over-signposting, in that it was possible to see twists coming a mile away - especially if you were familiar with the original comics. Anyone who'd read about John Walker knew he was going to fail at being Captain America, probably in spectacular fashion, and instead would be dubbed the "US Agent." The Sharon Carter/Power Broker twist was so obvious most viewers had figured it out by the end of episode 3. All this unfortunately led to a season finale that was, however enjoyable, also fairly predictable.
To be fair to Spellman, part of the problem lay in the fact it was obvious how Falcon & Winter Soldier fitted into the overarching narrative of the MCU; it was clearly going to be the story of how Sam decided to accept the shield he had been given by Steve Rogers, and suited up as the new Captain America. The purpose of the story was so clear that viewers could go into it knowing what to expect, well aware John Walker existed purely to contrast two different approaches to being a superhero, and confident where the lead character would end up by the final episode. So the issue is related to the nature of the show as much as to the writing, and Spellman can approach Captain America 4 with a lot more freedom. There are frankly countless directions Captain America 4 could take - especially if it also draws in some plot threads and even supporting characters from other Marvel Disney+ productions that haven't come out yet. This time round, the story should have some truly shocking twists.
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It's great to hear that the story of Sam Wilson's Captain America will not be relegated to Disney+, but will instead continue on the big screen. What's more, Malcolm Spellman has done a tremendous job fleshing out Sam's world and developing him as a potential lead character, so he's undoubtedly the right man to be working on the script. For all that's the case, though, he would do well to cast a critical eye to Falcon & Winter Soldier and ensure he learns from both what he did right and what he did wrong. The Captain America franchise is one of Marvel's best, if not the best, and Captain America 4 has a lot to live up to.
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