The actor Sebastian Stan sparked talk of his Marvel character Bucky Barnes taking on Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) role as Captain America. This was when he posted on Instagram a photo of himself carrying what seemed to be a shield similar to the Captain's but with a Winter Soldier twist: a steely chrome finish with a red Soviet star right on its center.
Nothing official has been heard from Marvel, although reports confirm that Sebastian Stan will definitely be part of "Avengers: Infinity War" as well as a possible shot at the "Black Panther" movie. Whether his character Barnes/Winter Soldier will indeed be taking up the Captain America shield in these films is not clear, but the idea has been slowly gaining foothold among Avengers and Captain America followers.
The latest fuel to the fire was the abovementioned Sebastian Stan Nov. 29 post which he captioned with a lighthearted "Excuse me...where's the restroom?" He clinched it with "Will come in handy ..." followed by the hashtags #wintersoldier and #marvel. Stan also expressed gratitude in the post to Casey McBroom of Shield Labs who created the shield for him. The photo showed the actor with his back to the camera, the shield slung over his right shoulder. But does this prove Bucky Barnes will indeed take over as Captain America?
There are no definite answers out there as yet, but in the Marvel comic books, the idea of Bucky Barnes as Captain America is not new at all. He is only one of a line of characters who have taken over the mantle of America's superhero when Rogers would die or go missing, or give up the title, which was the case in the last "Captain America: Civil War" movie.
It is remembered that the schism that grew between the Avengers in "Civil War" created two factions headed each by Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Captain America (Evans). At the close, Rogers/Captain America put down his shield, renouncing his right to it and his title.
It also seems that it is not only Captain America's shield but also a possible new costume that is the subject of much speculation. Talk has turned to the idea of having a new Captain America suit for Bucky Barnes which would match the Winter Soldier theme on the much conjectured Stan shield. Talk has it that the red star may bring forth red tones on the speculated new Captain America suit.
With Bucky Barnes though in cryogenic suspension, how could the surmised shield and Captain America costume come to fruition? Was Sebastian Stan just "pulling" fans' legs or just trying to be funny with his social media post?
