Not a lot of people talk about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier which is a shame because it's easily one of the best shows Marvel Studios put out. And while it isn't held in high regard unlike shows like WandaVision and Loki, it's still a pretty solid offering that saw Sam Wilson's ascension as the new Captain America and Bucky Barnes finally making amends for his mistakes.
The series, led by Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan was certainly a breath of fresh air because it was grounded in reality, unlike most MCU projects that came before it.
Well, it turns out that the second-ever MCU series nearly blurred the lines between what's real and not, and according to the new tell-all book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, written by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards, the show dropped a massive subplot that would have generated a ton of noise.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Originally Featured Subplot Involving "Fast-Spreading" Disease
A passage from the book (via The Direct), now out in stores reveals: "'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ had already canceled location work in Puerto Rico after a devastating earthquake in January 2020. The pandemic not only forced the show to abort a shoot in Prague but made a planned plotline about the heroes rushing to stop a fast-spreading disease feel a bit too close to reality. (Spellman acknowledged that the series had removed the side story, although he said that it wasn’t because of the coronavirus.)"
In a 2021 interview on the Fade to Black podcast, showrunner Malcolm Spellman confirmed that a subplot was indeed removed from the show. However, he didn't say much about it.
He shared: "I've been told to stop saying that [referring to the "lost" storyline]/ I loved it, and it had nothing to do with the pandemic. (...) I want to see if we can get some of the writers to do a book run on it because I think Kevin [Feige] does it. I've been told to stop talking about it."
Also Read: New MCU Report Reveals Captain America’s Supposed Replacement and It's NOT Falcon
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic was a sensitive subject, especially during the height of the virus so it's understandable how Marvel Studios scrapped the idea. You gotta admit though, it would have been a bold move if they went with it.
All episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are available to stream on Disney+.
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