The Falcon and The Winter Soldier saw Bucky Barnes finally move on from his past as a HYDRA assassin. Captain America: Brave New World later revealed that he had set out to become a United States Congressman.
In Thunderbolts*, Bucky is serving in Congress (on behalf of his constituents in Brooklyn, New York) but finds that the positive change he wants to effect isn't easy thanks to Governmental bureaucracy and red tape.
The movie ends with the hero leading the New Avengers alongside Yelena Belova. Does that mean his days as a Congressman are over?
"Yeah, it's almost like crossing it out, right?" Sebastian Stan tells Entertainment Weekly. "He's still been trying to find his way of how he can contribute in a way that he hasn't before. Ultimately, he realizes, 'No, I am who I am, and I do things how I do them, and I should just do that.'"
"But there's a lot of strange congressmen these days anyway, so... The only issue I had was, 'Well, why is he growing out his hair if he's going to be a congressman?!' But I still wanted to grow it out, so I was like, 'I don't care,'" he adds.
Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier had a somewhat more definitive answer, saying Bucky's political career is "pretty well done." The filmmaker noted, "I think he's found a new place that makes much more sense for him."
Elsewhere in the interview, Stan talked about finding a new approach to the character he's been playing since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger.
"It was interesting because, after the TV show Falcon and the Winter Soldier, I think we got him further along in a good head space where I feel he is now just finally realizing how to incorporate some of those Winter Soldier characteristics and get a handle on them," the actor explains.
"And so it was fun bringing back some of those moments with the new Bucky that we've established and to find the humor and the cool, dangerous factor as well. That was nice."
Bucky and his fellow New Avengers look set to be front and centre in Avengers: Doomsday, so there's still plenty more for Stan to do with this character. Some fans speculated that his becoming a Congressman might lead to a U.S. Presidential run, but we'd surely all rather see Bucky kicking butt instead of lounging around the Oval Office.
Check out some new promos for Thunderbolts* below.
In Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes - Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?
"Thunderbolts* redefines superhero storytelling to deliver a moving and powerful story that does for the 'Multiverse Saga' what The Avengers did for the 'Infinity Saga' in 2012," we said in our review. "These heroes have earned their place on a Wheaties box."
The cast of Thunderbolts* will be led by Florence Pugh as Yelena Boleva, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Lewis Pullman as "Bob."
Written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo, and directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* is now playing in theaters.