Credit: Marvel StudiosSebastian Stan is one of the longest-standing actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kevin Feige’s franchise first gained the star in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, with his latest appearance being in 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier a decade later.
Now, Stan–who has recently swapped the Avengers for The Apprentice–has spoken out about MCU criticisms ahead of his return in Thunderbolts* (2025).
Actor Sebastian Stan quickly became a fan-favorite part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Making his debut as James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes alongside Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America) in Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger, Stan went on to star in a plethora of movies across Phases One, Two, and Three.
Perhaps his most well-regarded Marvel movie is Phase Two’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (AKA The Russo Brothers), the espionage thriller is one of the highest-rated and critically acclaimed MCU movies.
Stan returned in Captain America: Civil War (2016), as well as the Russo’s Avengers movies, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
It’s been a long time since audiences saw the character in live-action, with Malcolm Spellman’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney+ series being the last. There, Stan joined Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Falcon) in the six-part thriller directed by Kari Skogland.
And while many may have expected to see Bucky and Sam reunite in next year’s Captain America: Brave New World (2025), Stan has not been cast in the film.
Mackie revealed Stan was not part of the upcoming film, telling Radio Times that “When [Marvel Studios] decided to go back to the movies, it is what it is, but I don’t have my friends [(Sebastian Stan and Daniel Brül)] anymore, so it kind of dampens it a little bit.”
Julius Onah’s movie has already been through the wringer, with the Phase Five movie seemingly continuing the studio’s rocky and unreliable streak–a streak that was partially interrupted by the billion-dollar success of Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
From large-scale reshoots that saw the addition of TV legend Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian) as Seth Voelker/Sidewinder to the changes made following Donald Trump’s assassination attempt and the controversy surrounding Shira Haas’ role as Ruth Bat-Seraph (Sabra in the Marvel Comics), Brave New World (formerly New World Order) could prove to be another dud for Feige’s studio.
That said, one thing that will aid Captain America: Brave New World‘s box office is its proximity–and likely direct connection–to the Phase Five climax movie Thunderbolts* from director Jake Schreier. One character that will cross over from Captain America 4 to Thunderbolts* is Harrison Ford’s President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, AKA Thunderbolt Ross, AKA Red Hulk.
In Thunderbolts* (which recently went through a name change that is causing all sorts of drama), Ford will be joined by Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova/Black Widow), David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian), Wyatt Russell (John Walker/U.S. Agent), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Valentina Allegra de Fontaine), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr/Ghost), Olga Kurylenko (Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster), and Sebastian Stan as Bucky/Winter Soldier.
Little footage has been shown of the upcoming squad, but the anti-hero dynamic, as well as fan-favorite stars like Stan, Pugh, and Louis-Dreyfus, is likely to draw audiences to the movie theater.
Despite not being present in the MCU for a while, Sebastian Stan is obviously still in touch with the current discourse, specifically the heavy criticisms the franchise has faced in recent years.
“It’s become really convenient to pick on [Marvel films],” the actor told Variety. “And that’s fine. Everyone’s got an opinion. But they’re a big part of what contributes to this business and allow us to have smaller movies as well. This is an artery traveling through the system of this entire machinery that’s Hollywood. It feeds in so many more ways than people acknowledge.”
It’s no secret that the franchise has been under intense scrutiny post-Endgame, with Phase Four and Phase Five featuring some of the worst-rated and worst-performing movies in MCU history; Phase Five’s The Marvels (2023) became the weakest-performing box office Marvel movie since the MCU began in 2008.
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“Sometimes I get protective of it because the intention is really fucking good. It’s just fucking hard to make a good movie over and over again,” Stan continued.
“[Marvel] legitimately spend so much time thinking, how could we surprise people and give people something different? [Kevin Feige’s] big motto is ‘The best idea wins,'” Stan added. “It just comes from a good place–and that’s the only reason why sometimes I get protective of it. Because the intention is really good.”
Looking ahead, Stan also spoke about his role in the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie.
“He’s always evolving, like the rest of us. And that’s kind of the fun with him now in this new film because he’s surrounded by a very degenerate crew of antagonists. They’re not entirely different from him,” he said.
Thunderbolts* will be released on May 2, 2025, and will close out Phase Five. The Fantastic Four: The First Steps (2025) will kick off Phase Six in July 2025, which will see the likes of Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us) and Emmy-winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) make their MCU debuts.
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As for Stan, ahead of his return as Bucky Barnes, the 42-year-old will star as a man suffering from neurofibromatosis in A Different Man (2024) and as a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice (2024).
How do you feel about Sebastian Stan’s absence in Captain America: Brave New World? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!