It was announced a few weeks ago that Disney was actively working on two superhero spin-offs for the subscription-platform part of its empire, due to launch towards the end of 2019. Impressively, both Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen were being penciled in to reprise their respective cinematic roles as Loki and Wanda Maximoff aka The Scarlet Witch in separate mini-series.
Disney appears to be doubling down on its commitment with the news, broken by industry site Variety – though not officially confirmed by the studio as yet – that another show is also in active development and which looks to bring another two supporting characters to the screen, this time together in one show. Sam Wilson aka The Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier (played by Sebastian Shaw) have both partnered Captain America in the comics-continuity, the former being the character’s sidekick in World War II before Cap was frozen in the ice for several decades and Bucky was held in stasis and brainwashed as a Soviet agent. The on-screen version of Bucky appeared in the first Captain America film and rose to prominence with the sequel, entitled ‘The Winter Soldier‘ which also introduced Sam Wilson. Both characters have subsequently been weaved through the various Marvel films that followed.
The announcement comes soon after the news that two Marvel/Netflix collaborations, Iron Fist and Luke Cage, are not being renewed. Unlike the deal with Netflix, the untitled Winter Soldier & Falcon, Loki and Scarlet Witch shows, each likely to be around eight episodes in length, would fall under the direct purview of Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios, thus tying them in more closely and officially to the big screen chapters with a proportionally high budget.
