When Marvel revealed that the Disney+ series based on Sam Wilson (Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), fans were hopeful, a little, that Bucky’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma would be addressed both by the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. No wonder Bucky will have more than a few scars from his day as a toy soldier in a fascist organisation after years under HYDRA’s influence.
Spellman has revealed the therapy of Bucky’s arc and how necessary it was that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to tackle those problems many people experience every day.
In real life, people work with sorrow every day, and many can relate, especially to the trauma Bucky suffered. Bucky gives any person who struggles with PTSD a voice through counselling and a lot of sleeping caution, and a heap of self-reproach in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Commenting on this fundamental character, Spellman said, “It was one of the things we most wanted to explore and talk with Sebastian about. Marvel has done a great job of keeping it alive, and so it was an obvious thing to [cover]. Between Bucky sleeping on the floor as if he doesn’t deserve anything better and the guilt he’s wracked with at every moment, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is offering a lot of space for him to address his trauma head-on. Now the character finally has a breath, and I think he said it — I’ll say it because I’m 99 per cent sure it’s in the trailer — he basically says, I’ve gone from one battle to the next and never had a chance to really deal with it. So, that’s what we all showed up wanting to deal with, and Sebastian was ready to dive in.”
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be premiering in Disney+ on Friday 19 March, and fans will watch Bucky face his demons. On Fridays at 12 am PT/3 am ET, new episodes hit the streamer.
