Filming Avengers: Endgame Was Troublesome For Sebastian Stan
Sebastian Stan, who plays Winter Soldier James "Bucky" Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, says that filming for Avengers: Endgame was troublesome for him due to studio secrecy. Endgame came on the heels of the third Avengers team-up film, Avengers: Infinity War, and was the franchise’s most ambitious project to date as it featured nearly every hero that had been introduced in the MCU. The movie picks up in the aftermath of Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) devastating snap that he used to wipe out half of all life in the universe. Stan’s Bucky was among the lives lost during Infinity War, but he was brought back during Endgame thanks to the efforts of the heroes who survived the now-infamous snap.
Bucky made his MCU debut in Captain America: The First Avenger alongside Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, who was the MCU’s Captain America up until the finale of Endgame. Bucky and Steve served in World War II together before Bucky seemingly died in combat. However, the pair reunited nearly seventy years later in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when Bucky, who had been kept alive and turned into a brainwashed Super Soldier called the Winter Soldier, attacked Steve. Unwilling to accept that his lifelong friend was lost, Steve helped Bucky remember who he was and the two teamed up as friends again in Captain America: Civil War.
During an interview on The Happy Sad Confused podcast, Stan was asked about the filming process on some of the MCU’s bigger movies. Since Marvel Studios works hard to keep some surprises under wraps until their projects are officially released, even longtime members of the MCU can’t always read a project’s full script. Stan said it’s difficult to film scenes for movies like Endgame since he was not allowed to read the full script. See Stan’s full comment below.
“No, I can’t. I have to understand what I’m doing, which is why the Avengers and Endgame was really, kind of tough when we were shooting it… because you know, a lot of us didn’t read the scripts. I think there were only a few people that had read them and I was like, ‘F—k, I can’t…’ I mean granted, it was the Russos and there were a lot of trusting people, but... usually I need to know what’s going on…”
The MCU’s big team-up films are always exciting to watch as heroes from different franchises come together, but starring in them clearly comes with some difficulties. With other ambitious films like Spider-Man: No Way Home having had some major spoilers to hide before the film’s release and upcoming films like Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness also likely to be loaded with important plot points, Marvel Studios will need to continue to be vigilant about its secret-keeping.
Stan’s Bucky may have served in a more supporting role in films like Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but Stan was really able to shine when he and Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson, the MCU’s current Captain America, co-starred in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier series on Disney+. While it’s unconfirmed where Bucky will show up next in the MCU, a fourth Captain America film starring Mackie is already confirmed to be in early development. Since Bucky and Sam learned how to work together well during The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, it seems likely that wherever Wilson’s Captain America shows up next, Bucky will follow. If Sebastian Stan is in Captain America 4, hopefully Bucky’s role at least warrants access to the film’s full script.
Source: The Happy Sad Confused Podcast (via The Direct)