According to showrunner Malcolm Spellman, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will lead directly into at least three Marvel projects. Starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, the show will be Marvel's second original series to hit Disney+ this year after the success of WandaVisionFalcon and the Winter Soldier was initially slated to be Disney+'s first Marvel series to hit the streamer, but COVID-related delays forced a schedule change. Luckily, Marvel president Kevin Feige said this delay has not changed the plans for Phase 4.

When Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres, it will bring to the forefront two heroes that have long had relatively minor roles in the franchise. It will also grapple with the pair's lingering traumas and the global trauma in a post-Blip landscape. This will all be centered around the return of Captain America: Civil War villain Baron Zemo and the passing on of Captain America's shield to Sam Wilson. The series already has lots to cover, but it sounds like Falcon and the Winter Soldier will also be doing some set-up for the MCU's future.

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

Spellman tells EW that the series will tie directly into several upcoming Marvel projects. The showrunner said, "I can think of three that I'm not allowed to talk about." Spellman and Feige also stayed mum on whether or not this meant Falcon and the Winter Soldier could be getting a second season. They have indicated that several Marvel shows are being developed with second seasons in mind, but, unsurprisingly, they declined to say which ones.

It should come as no surprise that Falcon and the Winter Soldier will lead directly into other Marvel projects. Besides the fact that this is the entire franchise's storytelling strategy, it has already been announced that WandaVision will tie into the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and other properties. It's a safe assumption that the rest of Marvel's series would be doing the same. Still, the exact projects Falcon and the Winter Soldier could lead into remains a mystery.

Don Cheadle is already confirmed to appear as War Machine in the series, so it's a safe bet that Armor Wars could be hinted at in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. As for other potential projects, there's a slew of rumors that could provide clues. Florence Pugh is rumored to appear as her Black Widow character Yelena Belova, meaning the series could tie into Black Widow and the Hawkeye series. Bucky and Sam visiting Madripoor could set up the long-awaited appearance of Mutants in the MCU, too. The possibilities are truly endless, and fans won't know until The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ends its six-episode run, meaning weeks of speculation lie ahead for Marvel theorists.

More: Marvel's Armor Wars Could Have A Falcon vs War Machine Battle

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Key Release Dates