‘The Falcon And The Winter Soldier’ Director Kari Skogland Reflects On Importance Of Black Man Taking Over As Captain America

On April 23, the season finale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier aired on the streaming service Disney+. Following the premiere, the director of all six episodes of the show Kari Skogland reflected on how she and show runner Malcolm Spellman developed the sixth and final episode of the season titled “One World, One People.”

“There are about two or three action sequences per hour, you want to make sure that each one of them has its own story and its own uniqueness,” she told Yahoo. “That’s a challenge because it has to carry plot but also carry character so it all adds up, so that your action sequences aren’t orphans to the storyline of the characters.”

When asked about the Easter eggs and references that Marvel allowed them to use, Skogland explained that they used them when necessary for the story and not just for the sake of them. “We draw from it like it’s a basket but we don’t duplicate. Which gives you a lot of freedom, therefore, to interpret both the characters and the storylines to fit the story that you are telling.”

Skogland also explained that the concept of Sam Wilson/The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) taking over the role of Captain America was the most important aspect of the show and was extremely meaningful to the story. “When I went and first talked to them I said this is the most important story of the century,” she said. “At it’s core, it’s going to take a look at what is it to be a hero and what is it to be a black man picking up such a white iconic symbol.”

Like the previous five episodes, the season finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has received acclaim from most fans and critics, who praised the emotional ending and Sam’s inspiring speech about the problems that people are enduring thanks to the unintentional carelessness of their governments.