Chicago Comic Con: 'Winter Soldier' Panel

On Sunday of Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, both Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan (Falcon and the Winter Soldier, respectively) appeared for a Q&A panel.

Hosted by Aaron Sagers, the first question asked was about whether Stan thought that Bucky Barnes’ character had been drafted or had chosen to enlist in World War 2. Having read up on the comics to prepare for the role, Stan answered that he believed Bucky had wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, and thus chose to enlist.

Both men were asked, if they could choose the genre of a film starring Falcon and Bucky, what genre would it be and what would it be about? A suggestion was thrown out that it should be a buddy-cop type movie, but Mackie suggested instead that it should be a rom-com wherein Bucky and Falcon fought over Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johannson), and featuring Chris Pratt or Chris Evans as the wacky neighbor.

Of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Mackie’s favorite scene was when the Winter Soldier caught Captain America’s shield, while Sebastian Stan really liked the car chase.

Mackie regaled the first day of shooting, when he watched a stunt double do a flip attached to a crane, and being very excited not to have to do that. Both men talked about how the film didn’t have a lot of green screen, instead there were many stunts that involved actually blowing things up, which Stan “got a kick out of.” According to him, if you pay close attention to scenes where things blow up, it is real fear on their faces. In one scene, after cut was called, someone pointed out to Stan that he was actually bleeding and he gleefully responded, “Really?!”

The next question was asked in regard to Chris Evans. If you seen gifs of him laughing during interviews, you will notice an odd habit: he grabs either his own or someone nearby’s left breast. Mackie and Stan were asked if it had ever happened to them, and though Mackie had a look of sheer confusion, Stan immediately was nodding as the question was uttered. Stan demonstrated for Mackie and the crowd how Evans would reach out.

They were next asked about singing karaoke together, and it was revealed that Stan loves the musical Jersey Boys and that Mackie dreams of performing in a musical someday, but not just any musical, Purlie. As a kid, he watched it every weekend on PBS and he said that “Even if it only ran for a week and 5 people came to see it, it would be worth it.” When asked about acting techniques and good direction, Mackie said, “A movie is a car, and actor is the driver, and the director is the GPS. If the GPS is only ever saying STOP, it’s just not gonna work out.” He said that good directors gave actors the freedom to bring something to the character and explore different directions.

I got the chance to ask Mackie about minority representation in super hero TV/films, and who he’d like to see come to the screen. His answer was Wonder Woman as a latina, “J-Lo who can act,” someone with “meat. She’s not white or skinny, she works out.” He was then asked more about his opinions on diversity and told the audience that we have a

In the future Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stan is looking forward to seeing Dr. Strange and Mackie wishes he could hang out with Rocket Raccoon (from the recently released Guardians of the Galaxy).

Before acting, Stan had been interested in astronomy and WWF. Wrestlers were his heroes. Mackie, on the other hand, looked up to his older brothers who broke and fixed things around the house, and considered being an engineer until he saw Top Gun. After seeing the volleyball scene, he decided he needed to be a fighter pilot and get [;ay volleyball on the beach (for no clear reason), and of course, get Kelly McGillis.