With one episode remaining, WandaVision will soon be coming to an end, much to the disappointment of fans. While the last episode has a lot of things to wrap up, it seems safe to now say that Marvel's first Disney+ series has been a huge success. WandaVision has captivated audiences from the first episode and remained the most talked about show on television while also earning critical acclaim for the bold new direction. Of course, fans won't have to wait long for the next MCU show to roll out as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set to debut just two weeks after the WandaVision finale. However, that show already has some big shoes to fill.
With the MCU forever expanding, Marvel looked to Disney+ as a new platform to tell different stories that were still directly connected to the movies. Originally, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was meant to be the first Disney+ series to debut, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced Marvel to reshuffle its entire release schedule and WandaVision was pushed to the front of the line. As it turns out, WandaVision became the perfect introduction into Phase 4 of the MCU, but it set a high bar for whatever came next.
The MCU has explored everything from more grounded human stories to adventures in the cosmos to ancient gods. However, WandaVision feels like something completely new and exciting for the cinematic universe. It took a very bold and strange narrative approach, recreating classic sitcoms to tell this supernatural story. It turned Wanda and Vision, two relatively overlooked characters, into two of the MCU's most complex characters. And most importantly, it hooked fans in a way that few shows have. With every new episode, countless fan theories emerge with people picking apart every inch of the screen looking for clues. It became clear that the passion fans have for the movies in the MCU can be recreated in these shows. But with WandaVision being so different from what has come before, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier might seem like a disappointing return to form for the universe.
Certainly, the anticipation for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is incredibly high, with the latest trailer only adding to that excitement. But it seems like that level of enthusiasm has increased due to the response to WandaVision. While it suggests Marvel is taking these new shows very seriously, it seems like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier could really not be more different. Judging by the trailers The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a buddy-action adventure more in line with the Captain America movies. While there are certainly plenty of fans who would love a six-episode action-packed show, following the thrilling insanity of WandaVision, it's possible The Falcon and the Winter Soldier might seem a bit basic.
While the finale promises to take things up a notch, WandaVision has been quite small in scale for an MCU project thus far. With no really big action set pieces, the show has still managed to hook viewers with its captivating story, a compelling central mystery, and the development of its key characters. WandaVision also seems to have bigger stakes in the overall MCU than The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In fact, it seems to be the project that will kick off the multiverse storyline that will play out in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as well as Spider-Man: No Way Home. In terms of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it seems to be more of a footnote on the Captain America story.
So how can The Falcon and the Winter Soldier successfully follow WandaVision? Firstly, it seems as though Marvel isn't scaling back on the action with sequences said to as big as in any MCU movie. Perhaps some big-budget thrills are exactly what fans are looking for after WandaVision. And like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has two very interesting MCU characters to explore. Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes have mostly been relegated to sidekick roles, but they are great characters to step into the spotlight. Bucky is perhaps the most tragic character in the MCU and it will be fascinating to see him deal with his complex past. The show also promises to explore Sam's position as the new Captain America in some bold ways that could also flesh out his character. However, its biggest draw is the legacy of Captain America.
By the time his arc ended in Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers aka Captain America had arguably become the most popular character in the MCU. While chances of him appearing in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as slim to none, his presence will be all over the show. Every central character in the show, not just Sam and Bucky, is linked to Steve Rogers in some profound way. From Sharon Carter to Baron Zemo and even the new character John Walker. After the long wait to see Phase 4 of the MCU finally start, being able to explore the impact of one of its biggest heroes could be what hooks fans to this story.
Regardless of how it compares to WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier looks to be an exciting next chapter in the MCU. If nothing else, it seems like a good indication that Phase 4 will be trying a lot of different types of stories going forward.
WandaVision is currently streaming on Disney+. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will begin streaming on Disney+ on March 19.