With the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier finally enjoying its premiere on Disney Plus, many viewers are curious how the chemistry between co-stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan will develop. If it's anything like their relationship in real life, it looks like audiences have nothing to fear. Minor spoilers for the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier follow.
In an amusing coincidence, it turns out both Stan and Mackie seem to match their characters' personalities to a degree. According to Stan when speaking about the series in a recent interview, Mackie not only possesses valuable leadership skills on set, but he also helped his co-star have fun with his role. Just like how Sam Wilson is able to enjoy his work as the Falcon while Bucky Barnes has trouble adjusting to a normal life after decades of brainwashed fighting as the Winter Soldier. Apparently, the two actors were particularly inspired choices for their roles.
When speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Stan praised Mackie for his leadership and ability to connect with people, saying "there were times when I was so scared and like really trying to find the truth of everything... and he had to kind of pull me back." He recalled how Mackie would reiterate the idea of finding balance, saying things like "yes, let's find the dramatic moment, but just remember that it's supposed to be fun too." It certainly seems like valuable advice given the rather tense timeline of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
In fairness, this first episode didn't actually feature any interactions between Bucky and Sam. If the series structure is anything like WandaVision, the showrunners may be intentionally keeping things slow at first in order to establish characters and the like, which could help audiences connect with them in the long run. But it's not like the two had never shown their chemistry on screen before. A few choice moments between them in Captain America: Civil War are apparently a big reason this show exists in the first place, and those moments give viewers a taste of (hopefully) what to expect as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier progresses.
Based on the first episode, the show itself certainly seems to be prioritizing the more serious and dramatic moments as mentioned by Stan. But that only makes the brief instances of levity that much more crucial in keeping things from perhaps getting too dark. Maybe the less serious bits will begin to ramp up once the two finally begin to interact throughout the series, in which case that bit of on-set advice from Mackie to Stan should really come in handy.
The question of whether or not the show will be kind of funny is obviously not among the most pressing of issues. There's still plenty of speculation to be had, such as whether the show will further address Bucky's connection to Wakanda under the "White Wolf" name, but for now, it's at least nice to see that sort of connection between the two actors.
Source: EW|Twitter