Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie reprise their respective roles as Barnes and Wilson from the film series, with Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Danny Ramirez, Georges St-Pierre, Adepero Oduye, Don Cheadle, Daniel Brühl, Emily VanCamp, Florence Kasumba, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus also starring.

Spellman was hired in October and chose to focus on the racial and political issues raised by Wilson, a Black man, being handed Captain America's shield at the end of Endgame.

Six months after being handed the mantle of Captain America at the end of Avengers: Endgame (2019),[3] Sam Wilson teams up with Bucky Barnes on a global mission to stop an anti-patriotism group, the Flag Smashers, who are enhanced with a recreation of the Super Soldier Serum and believe the world was better during the Blip.

[4] Recurring members of the Flag Smashers include Desmond Chiam as Dovich, Dani Deetté as Gigi, Indya Bussey as DeeDee,[39] Renes Rivera as Lennox,[40] Tyler Dean Flores as Diego,[41] and Noah Mills as Nico.

[39] Also recurring are Amy Aquino as Christina Raynor, Barnes's therapist;[42] Chase River McGee and Aaron Haynes as Sam Wilson's nephews Cass and AJ;[43] Alphie Hyorth as a U.S. senator who is the U.S. representative on the Global Repatriation Council (GRC);[44] Clé Bennett as Lemar Hoskins / Battlestar, a sergeant major in the U.S. Army and Walker's Captain America strike force partner;[45][15][14] Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, an African-American Korean War veteran and super soldier who was imprisoned and experimented on for 30 years; Elijah Richardson as Isaiah's grandson Eli Bradley;[46] and Gabrielle Byndloss as Olivia Walker, John's wife.

[45] Additional guest stars include Ken Takemoto as Yori Nakajima, the father of one of the Winter Soldier's victims;[44] Miki Ishikawa as Leah, a waitress who has a date with Barnes;[21] Ness Bautista as Matias, a member of the Flag Smashers;[45] Neal Kodinsky as Rudy, a supporter of the Flag Smashers;[47] Veronica Falcón as Donya Madani, Morgenthau's adoptive mother;[48] Olli Haaskivi as Wilfred Nagel, the scientist who recreated the Super Soldier Serum;[47] and Nicholas Pryor as Oeznik, Zemo's butler.

[52] Malcolm Spellman was one of several writers asked to pitch a series focusing on Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson / Falcon and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier.

[1] Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Moore, Skogland, and Spellman executive produced the series,[6]: 15  which is retitled Captain America and the Winter Soldier in the sixth episode's credits.

[60] Some early elements of the series were decided before Spellman was hired, including roles for the characters Helmut Zemo, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Sharon Carter.

[9][66] Feige said this was intended to be a "classic passing of the torch from one hero to another", but when Marvel Studios got the opportunity to make television series for Disney+ they decided to expand this into an entire story about Wilson, who is a Black man, becoming Captain America.

[10] Mackie elaborated that there was a specific "brand of person" that was expected of Captain America, and Wilson questions whether he should take up the mantle as a Black man who understands how different people see him.

[70] Other "hard-to-talk about issues" that the series explores, according to Skogland, include ideas of patriotism and extremism, asking the questions: "Who is an American, and who gets to decide what principles the country stands for?

[13] Russell's past work portraying "the slacker with long hair and a beard" did not lend itself to this role, but Marvel liked how his "unique energy" differentiated Walker from Wilson and Barnes.

[89] In contrast, Wilson's new Captain America suit has a lot of white in it which makes it stand out from the series' general muted look,[90] and provides "a layer of hope and brightness", according to Crow.

[89] Zemo's coat was intended to feel like an "old Sokovian military uniform", taking inspiration from traditional Slavic clothing and Polish and Russian overcoats from World War II.

Perception used movement and lighting to create a "mysterious ambiance to match the show's atmosphere",[92] and included various hidden messages and Easter eggs in the sequence,[91] such as references to the Enhanced Humans Act and Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross; the Sokovia Accords; Karli Morgenthau via a wanted poster that mentions various attacks by the Flag Smashers;[93] Madripoor and the Brass Monkey Saloon;[93][76] past attempts to replicate the Captain America program, including Isaiah Bradley being labeled a "subject"; and the Power Broker.

[124] According to the series' editors, most of the footage from the original filming dates covered the first, second, and fifth episodes, with the third, fourth, and sixth still needing a lot of shooting after the shut down.

[135] Because he was returning to the franchise after several years, Jackman started by creating an "audio care package" featuring different themes, orchestrations, and harmonies that he had composed for the Captain America films, to remind himself of that work and organize it before approaching music for the series.

[136] Once Walker turns on the titular heroes, Jackman transitioned to the operatic theme that he used for Captain America fighting Iron Man in Civil War due to the similarity between the two situations.

[82] Angie Han of Mashable felt the trailer promised "explosive action, a jet-setting plot, some very creepy villains, and—best of all—a return of the characters' odd-couple, best-frenemies dynamic" from Civil War.

[155] Four episodes of the Disney+ television series Marvel Studios: Legends explore the Falcon, the Winter Soldier, Zemo, and Sharon Carter using footage from their MCU film appearances.

[162] Discussing the final trailer for io9, James Whitbrook highlighted the emphasis on the physical and existential threats to Wilson and Barnes, and was intrigued by the portrayal of Flag-Smasher as a movement rather than a single character.

Bonus features include the featurette "Cap's Shield"; deleted scenes; a gag reel; and the Marvel Studios: Assembled documentary special "The Making of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier".

The website's critical consensus reads, "Packed with blockbuster action and deft character beats, Falcon and the Winter Soldier proves itself worthy of Captain America's legacy with its globetrotting intrigue, mature social commentary, and the sparky rapport between stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan.

[181] David Betancourt, reviewing the season finale for The Washington Post, analyzed the racial themes surrounding the character of Sam Wilson, a Black man, acquiring the mantle of Captain America.

[182] Brian Lowry writing for CNN said, "Overall the series deftly accomplished its primary mission, which was to explore the dramatic tension in Wilson becoming Captain America, in a way that went beyond just being told the shield now belonged to him.

"[183] Calling the series "flawed but fun", Brian Tallerico of Vulture stated that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier "often felt rushed and lacked some depth in its analysis of race and power in this country" but served its purpose as an origin story for Wilson's Captain America while setting up future MCU projects.

[185] By the third episode, Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone felt the series was "leaning way into the 'six-hour movie' model at this point, where the only concern is advancing the plot by any means necessary, regardless of how interesting it is on its own".

However, knowing the report about the fourth Captain America film added to the intrigue of what direction Marvel Studios would go in, considering past comments from Feige and others implying the series would get a proper second season.

[210] Ramirez and Lumbly reprise their roles in the film,[211] and are joined by Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns / Leader and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, both from The Incredible Hulk (2008),[211][212] and Shira Haas as Sabra.