The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman has revealed an alternate cut of the finale gave Bucky a new superhero name.
At the end of episode 6, a new title card appears, which reads: 'Captain America and the Winter Soldier.' It marks Sam Wilson's transformation into the new Cap, but a different ending would have given Bucky his White Wolf name – a nickname that comes from his time in Wakanda.
"I got to see that moniker [White Wolf] in watching one of the cuts, and man, it really affected me emotionally," Spellman told The Hollywood Reporter. "The reason [the closing title card] still says The Winter Soldier is solely based on Marvel feeling like they needed to keep some of the original title in there to land that feeling. I don't think it had anything to do with where Bucky is going or how Bucky evolved as a character. I think that they felt like if they went too far away from the original title, you wouldn’t feel the impact of those words. But I'm speculating here."
He added: "Again, I'm speculating here, but I believe they wanted the impact of Captain America and the Winter Soldier to land. And I do think that had they done Captain America and the White Wolf, it might not have been as emotional of a landing because it's too much math and too much evolution. But I don't know for sure what it was. I got blindsided by that while watching the cut – but I loved it."
Captain America 4 is reportedly in the works, so we'll probably find out whether Bucky now goes by the Winter Soldier or White Wolf there – though Anthony Mackie, Spellman, and series director Kari Skogland have all avoided confirming the movie is happening.
The next Marvel Disney Plus release is Loki, which arrives June 11. Until then, check out everything we know about Marvel Phase 4 – and find the best Disney Plus prices and deals.
