It came as a bit of a surprise and disappointment when Captain America gave his shield to Falcon and not his pal Bucky, and now the man who plays that friend has revealed why.
After Thanos was defeated, Cap (Chris Evans) made the decision to live the life he had been robbed by going back in time to be with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).
It was a well-earned break for the star-spangled hero and he passed on the mantle to Sam Wilson a.k.a. Falcon (Anthony Mackie).
Speaking with THR, Sebastian Stan gave his opinion why Cap took that action:
“Like anybody that ends up traumatized by a war experience, Bucky was affected by it for the rest of his life. So, what felt like a desire there was for a restart – for him and for Steve in a way.
It didn’t necessarily feel like the shield was gonna be that. Steve going back in time and saying, ‘I’m gonna take something for me now. I’ve been there for all these guys, and I’ve done the best I could. I’m just a man, and I’m gonna go back and try to live my life.’
I feel like that is something that Bucky would want for his best friend, and at the same time, Steve is saying to Bucky, ‘You’re going to go and do that too. I’m not going to put this on you. We’re both going to live our lives – the lives that were actually taken from us back in the ’40s when we enlisted.’
So, that’s where I felt they were at the end of the movie. I don’t think there’s a desire or any conflicted thoughts about taking on that mantle.
Sam, to me, was always the clear man to take on that mantle for numerous reasons, which also comes with so much baggage that’s going to be explored in the show.
I guess you’ll have to tune in to Disney + to find out why. At the end of Endgame, for either Steve or Bucky, it’s really not about the shield.”
