Sebastian Stan Details Bizarre Way He Learned He'd Be In Black Panther

Sebastian Stan has revealed the odd way he found out Bucky Barnes/Winter Solider would be in Black Panther. As one of the oldest characters in the MCU, Bucky has gone through a lot and appeared in several Marvel movies as a major character, starting with Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011. However, Stan's Bucky appearances have also included a surprise cameo during Black Panther's post-credits scene, offering fans an update on his rehabilitation process in Wakanda.

On the heels of Captain America: Civil War, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) decided to ask T'Challa for help regarding Bucky. While the former Winter Soldier had already realized what HYDRA did to him, he was still struggling to get out of the organization's brainwashing. The Wakandans, led by Shuri (Letitia Wright) accepted Bucky and helped him with his healing journey using their advanced technology. Before Thanos' (Josh Brolin) attack in Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel Studios revealed his progress during Black Panther's post-credits stinger, while he attempted to shed his ruthless Winter Soldier assassin persona. He was also briefly given a nickname that may hint at Bucky's MCU future: "White Wolf."

Stan's appearance in the iconic Ryan Coogler-directed Marvel Studios film was brief, but it was significant to the character's story in the MCU. In a new interview with Esquire, the actor confirms reports of the funny and casual way he learned that he was going to be in Black Panther from MCU architect, Kevin Feige. Apparently, the Marvel boss was extremely nonchalant about the whole thing. Read Stan's story below:

"Completely true. I think it was on the set of Captain America: Civil War, and he goes, 'Oh yeah, by the way, we're gonna have you come in early next week. You're gonna do the scene with Ryan Coogler'. It's always been like that, by the way. It's always been off-handed. Even getting the role back in the day was sort of off-handed."

Bucky and White Wolf in Avengers Infinity War

It is unsurprising that Feige was so casual about informing Stan of his upcoming MCU cameo in Black Panther. As a studio well-known for its detailed world-building, Marvel's actors are a highly trusted group of people who know their characters are likely to pop up in future projects that explore their comic book origins. Given that, Feige would no doubt have complete faith that Stan would happily take on the role of Bucky Barnes/Winter Solider again, especially given that it set up his redemption arc in a post-Civil War story.

As Phase 4 continues, however, the MCU's storytelling is focused on the burgeoning multiverse. There just hasn't been much opportunity to revisit Bucky's arc, despite co-headlining in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where his story wasn't really given that much screen time against Anthony Mackie's Falcon. Moving forward, however, the MCU will hopefully give Bucky his due, as he is one of the franchise's most interesting and under-explored characters. And as the Black Panther post-credits scene proved, there is still plenty more evolution to come in Bucky's story, though chances are that Stan is still as much in the dark about that as the public.

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Source: Esquire