Falcon and The Winter Soldier is bringing back characters from some of the earliest Marvel movies

Falcon Winter Soldier
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios)

Falcon and The Winter Soldier has a new Captain America, a new suit for Sam Wilson’s Falcon, and potentially even a new change of allegiance for a Marvel villain. But it’s not all out with the old – Falcon and The Winter Soldier and John Wick writer Derek Kolstad has teased the return of some familiar faces.

“There are characters from the earliest Marvel movies that are coming back. They’re layering them in and reinventing them in such a way that it’s going to shift the storytelling structure,” Kolstad told the Script Apart podcast about the Disney Plus series.

No clues yet – as you’ll soon see, Kolstad is understandably reluctant to share too much – but Falcon and The Winter Soldier may yet draw from that Phase 1 pool of talent in the same way the upcoming WandaVision is bringing back Kat Dennings from the first Thor movie.

What else? “I can tell you very little – but I’ll tell you this… they got hit by Covid but they’re finishing up finally. That’s going to be fucking cool. I’m honoured and I’m proud at where that came to be,” Kolstad said.

“Growing up, everyone would give someone like Robin shit but he’s pretty badass… you’re taking secondary characters and putting them in primary roles and they’re cooler, they’re more interesting. There is more humanity, there is more longing, more suffering, more coming to grips with what they are.”

So, basically: more depth, both in terms of character studies and tapping into the rich tapestry that Marvel has created. Exactly what we want from Falcon and The Winter Soldier – which currently has a 2021 release date.

Need to catch up on the MCU before then? Here’s how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.