A new The Falcon and The Winter Soldier image previews an evolved Baron Zemo. Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is days away from continuing with the launch of another Disney+ series. Early reactions to The Falcon and The Winter Soldier have been positive, which has only increased anticipation for the series. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan's leading roles as Sam Wilson aka Falcon and Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier will come with the return of Daniel Brühl's MCU villain.

Baron Zemo only has one appearance under his belt heading into The Falcon and The Winter Soldier but he left a big imprint. His role in Captain America: Civil War saw him orchestrate the Avengers breaking up. Zemo's survival left fans hoping he'd pop up again, and that will finally happen on the Disney+ series. Many are excited to see Zemo return and put on the character's purple mask from the comics. There is also great intrigue in the fandom over the nature of his role, as the villain appears to be working with Sam and Bucky at some points in the trailers.

Related: Every Key Theory Ahead Of Falcon & The Winter Soldier

With The Falcon and The Winter Soldier's debut nearing, it shouldn't be long before fans get to see Zemo back in the MCU. Ahead of his return, though, Empire has shared a fiery look at the antagonist. Zemo is masked up with a shipping container behind him and a big fire in front. While talking to the outlet, Brühl teased an "evolved" version of Zemo is who will be seen in the show.

It’s not just the mask, it’s the costume. It does something with him as a whole. He’s evolved. He’s a different man now.

Zemo's placement in this image matches similar shots of him in the trailers at a shipping yard. What is more intriguing, though, is Brühl's tease of how much Zemo has changed when fans see him again. Instead of this newer version of the character coming from his life experiences or the state of the MCU, Brühl points to the mask and costume holding some significance. There have been theories circulating about why Zemo finally decides to put on the mask in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Some suggest he's borrowed the purple mask look from Thanos, but it would be interesting if the show connects the mask to Zemo's past somehow. There's also the possibility that his changed persona is a way for Marvel Studios to push Zemo towards the Thunderbolts.

With The Falcon and The Winter Soldier having roughly six hours of content at its disposal, the show theoretically has a lot of time to explore Zemo. Despite the impact he had in Captain America: Civil War, he only had about 10 minutes of screentime. This short amount of time allowed for a decent amount of Zemo's MCU backstory to be explored, but there is room for so much more. Hopefully, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier manages to make Zemo an even more compelling villain.

MORE: Everything We Know About The Falcon & The Winter Soldier TV Series

Source: Empire

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