Steve Rogers will die and Bucky Barnes will become Captain America
Captain America: The Winter Soldier re-introduced us to Bucky Barnes in the form of The Winter Soldier. If you don’t remember, he was Steve Rogers’ friend and the commando who fell off the train to his assumed death in The First Avenger, but Barnes survived and was turned into the Soviet super-spy of the sequel’s title. The post-credits scene of The Winter Soldier reveals that he survives his ordeal with Captain America and seems to remember who he is and how he knows him – it would appear that The Winter Soldier is going to become a good guy. In fact he may become the next Captain America.
In the comics when Steve Rogers is assassinated by Brock Rumlow, a.k.a. Crossbones, Barnes then takes over the role of Captain America. With the fact that Chris Evans said he wants to take a break from acting after his Marvel contract ends and Sebastian Stan (who plays The Winter Soldier) has a nine-picture deal with Marvel, it seems apparent that he will take over from Chris Evans. This is also supported by the fact that Crossbones (Frank Grillo) survives the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and will likely return in the next instalment as a villain.
It may just be a prediction but the way things are going the chances of Barnes becoming Captain America is a certainty – whether or not Steve Rogers will die for this to happen is another story. Recently Chris Evans has confirmed that he is to retire from acting and go into directing. With a new career prospect and no reason to sign a new contract, chances are Barnes will replace Rogers in the not too distant future.
What do you make of these predictions, and how do you think the Marvel Cinematic Universe will shape up over the next few years?
Thomas Roach
Originally published April 13, 2014. Updated April 15, 2018.
