Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan Usher in Next Chapter of the MCU at 'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' Virtual Launch Event

We're less than 24 hours away from the premiere of Marvel Studios' The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, streaming on Disney+!

To mark the occasion, Marvel host Angélique Roché and EW's Chanelle Berlin Johnson hosted a virtual launch event for the Marvel Studios original series at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, with the members of the Space and Missile Systems Center, which you can watch above!

After airing a montage of clips from past Marvel Studios film, highlighting moments of Sam Wilson (Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldiers), Angélique and Chanelle kicked off the launch event by welcoming the creative minds and filmmakers of the series — Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, executive producer Nate Moore, and co-executive producer Zoie Nagelhout — before welcoming the stars of the series, Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Falcon) and Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier), returning talent Emily VanCamp (Sharon Carter) and Daniel Brühl (Zemo), and newcomer Wyatt Russell (John Walker).

The Unexpected Duo, Sam and Bucky

"We've been dreaming about it for years and years ever since we put the amazing Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan together," said Feige, on why we need a Sam and Bucky project. "They had a few scenes together in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and few more scenes together in Captain America: Civil War. And every time we saw those, even going back to before we cut the movie together, just watching the footage when we first shot it. We were like, 'These two are great together, wouldn't it be fun to do a buddy show with these two.'"

"Sebastian and I always have fun so reading the script when I saw what the story was, and where our storyline was going, I was really excited to get back together and make fun of him some more," explained Mackie.

Really cementing their dynamic, Stan shared, "Working with Anthony is sort of like getting into a car without the breaks, you know? You just really hope it's not gonna crash anywhere. But that's sort of the chemistry of the characters. And I think we were both excited to have six hours to really explore their pasts, and fill in the gaps to who they are now and what their identities are about."

However, what really had the two characters on common ground was their friendship with Steve Rogers (Captain America). “This series picks up post-Blip so Sam is really even more so worried about how does he fit back into society after being gone for five years,” stressed Mackie. “He misses Steve, because Steve was his friend. Steve brought him into all this. And he's just wondering, how do they all move forward?”

The Duo Bringing It to Life

The series is helmed by head writer Malcolm Spellman and director Kari Skogland. Reflecting on their contributions, Moore shared, "Malcolm is a fan of the comics and knows a ton about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's also an incredibly talented writer who taught us about how to mount the show 'cause we'd only really done features. But the secret about Malcolm is he's also hysterically funny. So all the humor in the show, all of the mining of that relationship was something that Malcolm really leaned into." 

"Kari is an incredibly talented director who really forced us to ground the show in character and theme," Moore continued. "You know, she's really interested in getting inside these two heroes that you've seen do amazing things in the Avengers and the Captain America movies, but she forced us to really get to know them as people and really encouraged us to anchor the show in reality by shooting on location, by getting really close to the characters with the camera and really honestly, just directing the heck out of this show."

The Globetrotting Adventure

One of the key elements of the series is all the locations the series takes us on, which puts the series on the same level as the blockbuster features. "We realized the opportunity was that we could tell fans the story over the course of six weeks, instead of just the two-hour experience in the theater," stated Nagelhout. "We hoped that each episode could leave you wanting more and could take you into new corners of the MCU in the same way each of our features does."

"What's so fun about that is you get to see two characters, Sam and Bucky, in entirely new environments," added Nagelhout. "You drop them into new settings where they might be uncomfortable or have conflict and that's a really fun, you know, thing to explore."

Explaining what she's excited to explore, Nagelhout revealed, "It’s the opportunity with the time that we have in these stories to really redefine characters, to put them in new situations, to see them in a new light. For Bucky, he's never really had a chance to live his own life. What is that like for him? And for a character like Sharon Carter, who we haven't seen in years, you know, what's she been up to? Who is she now? You know, it's this great opportunity to just redefine and reintroduce characters."

The Eclectic Cast

Two other returning characters for the series are Emily VanCamp and Daniel Brühl.

Brühl shared what it was like when he got the call about the project, "I was in Budapest at the time shooting something else, and then a week later, Kari Skogland, the director, came with Zemo's mask in her suitcase so that was a very exciting moment to put it on for the first time."

As what we can expect from Sharon Carter? VanCamp teased, "I think this time around though we see a little bit of a different Sharon which was really exciting. We get to see where she's been all this time. After she's sort of made all of these sacrifices and it was really intriguing to see this new, sort of perspective that she has."

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier welcomes Wyatt Russell, who plays new character John Walker, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Always on guard, Russell made sure not to reveal too much. 

“To be honest, I don't know how much I really can say other than it was a blast filming with everybody,” reflected Russell.

A senior airman from the 700th Airlift Squadron asked the cast, "Why do you think so many Marvel characters are veterans?"

Brühl poignantly responded, "From what I know, what I always found very interesting about Marvel, since the beginning is that it was always involved in what was happening in the world, and referring to what was happening. It always sent messages, especially to the younger generations, which were very important."

"If you think of World War II and Captain America, he was actually fighting the Nazis," continued Brühl. "He was fighting fascism. So it was a very important influence for the young people reading these comic books. And that made me always think that, Marvel really has a relevance in its pop culture."

Other Dynamic Marvel Duos

Wishing Anthony and Sebastian luck on this brand-new adventure together are a couple MCU duos that we've seen, and will see, in their own series on Disney+ this year!

Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany

Our WandaVision duo made sure Mackie and Stan do not forget that Wanda and Vision "cleared the way" for the two.

"Paul, what do you mean, 'cleared the way,'" cautioned Olsen, who played Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch). "We're still here, and we're still a team."

"Of course, we are," stammered Bettany, who played Vision. "I mean, we are. Are? I mean, but are we though?"

Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld

While upcoming duo Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld, who Clint Barton and Kate Bishop, respectively, from the set of Marvel Studios' Hawkeye, wanted to let them know they're available to help, especially in the advice on how to work together department.

"We're sitting here waiting for Sam and Bucky to go into action," noted Renner. "And look, we're here, if you need us, for any tips on teamwork."

"That's right," added Steinfeld. "It's all about connections, right? Finding things you have in common?"

Of course, they have tons of things in common. "We're both into music," said Renner, while Steinfeld offered, "Acting," before they tried to come up with a couple other things, like, "we drink water" and "all those things that we have in common, makes us a good team."

Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson

In the spirit of epic team ups, Owen Wilson (who will play Mobius) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) unveiled the poster for their upcoming team up in the series Marvel Studios' Loki. You can check out right here!

Wilson stated, "That's right. We are a powerful duo from the MCU. Just like you guys. Equally matched characters in every way working side by side."

Playfully rebuking that notion, Hiddleston replied, "Loki is a god, and you know, Mobius is kinda more of a bureaucrat," to Wilson's dismay, who clarified, "Because one of us has a bigger ego than the other."

An Exclusive Look

Before they signed off from the launch event, the cast treated viewers to a new sneak peek at the series. Check it out above!

Want to hear more from the cast and creative of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier? Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Kari Skogland, and Malcolm Spellman shared with us this past weekend everything you need to know to get ready for their series!

Don’t miss out on Anthony Mackie’s return as Sam Wilson (Falcon) when Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and The Winter Soldier starts streaming tomorrow on Disney+!

Want more 'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier'? Follow the series on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Stay tuned to Marvel.com for more details! And be sure to follow Marvel on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

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