Warning: SPOILERS for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Episodes 3-5.

The interaction between Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and the Dora Milaje in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier could hint that the White Wolf has a future in Black Panther 2. Ayo (Florence Kasumba) and Wakanda's elite royal guard appeared in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier to capture Baron Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), who murdered King T'Chaka (John Kani) in Captain America: Civil War.

Of all of the Avengers, Bucky has the longest and most complex relationship with Wakanda. In the words of Shuri (Letitia Wright), Barnes was a "broken white boy for us to fix"; Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) took Bucky to Wakanda so that Shuri could use her super-science to purge him of Hydra's brainwashing. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier revealed that it was Ayo who tested whether Bucky's deprogramming was successful. Afterward, Bucky was allowed to live peacefully in Wakanda, and he was dubbed the White Wolf. However, the calm Barnes experienced wouldn't last and he was called back to action alongside the Avengers to battle the children of Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War. King T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) gifted Bucky a new Vibranium arm as well.

Related: The MCU Confirms Black Panther Still Didn't Trust Bucky

Bucky ended up ruining much of his goodwill with Wakanda in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Barnes helped Zemo - who is one of Wakanda's national enemies - break out of prison in Germany and teamed up with him in Madripoor. When the Dora Milaje caught up with Bucky, Zemo, and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Latvia, Ayo still gave Bucky eight hours to conclude his business with Zemo out of respect for the White Wolf. Instead, Bucky sided with Captain America John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and actually fought the Dora Milaje, which allowed Zemo to escape during the melee. To end the fight, Ayo used a failsafe that separated Bucky's Vibranium arm from his body. Even though Bucky later allowed the Dora Milaje to take Zemo into custody in Sokovia, Ayo still warned him that "It would be prudent to make yourself scarce in Wakanda for the time being, White Wolf."

Meanwhile, the Dora Milaje's presence in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier also serves as a roadmap for how Black Panther 2 could work without T'Challa as the movie's focus, given the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman. Marvel Studios isn't recasting T'Challa and will reportedly make Black Panther 2 about the other heroes in Wakanda. But this could also mean recruiting some big-name MCU guest stars and Bucky Barnes would be at the top of the list given his history with the African nation. The events of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier create an intriguing plot thread between Bucky and Wakanda for Black Panther 2 to follow up.

The way The Falcon and The Winter Soldier played out, the Dora Milaje took their conflict with Bucky over Zemo as a betrayal of the White Wolf's friendship with Wakanda. Further, Ayo was personally insulted given the grace period she offered Bucky and their shared past when he was recovering in Wakanda. Although Bucky did finally yield jurisdiction to the Dora Milaje and gave them Zemo instead of killing the Sokovian Baron himself, Wakanda still has ample cause to not trust the White Wolf despite Ayo still showing Bucky respect.

For his part, however, Bucky was also hurt by the fact that his cybernetic arm has a failsafe he wasn't aware of so he has a new grievance with Wakanda as well. Thus far, there's been no announcement as to what Bucky Barnes' future will entail after The Falcon and The Winter Soldier ends but a guest appearance in Black Panther 2 is a natural next step to resolve their unfinished business. Bucky may be able to find a path forward atoning for his sins as the Winter Soldier but he now has to make amends with Wakanda as well, and vice versa.

Next: Black Panther Almost Made John Walker's Captain America Public Kill Mistake

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