Fans were shocked when they saw the opening moments of Marvel’s Big Game Spot for the Super Bowl. The first footage of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showed off Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson playing with his new toy, and even the actor was surprised to see himself throwing Captain America’s shield.
In the exciting promo, Mackie can be seen reprising the role of Wilson learning the ins and outs of how to throw Cap’s infamous weapon of choice, which according to the actor, is not as easy as it looks. In fact, Mackie wasn’t expecting to see himself tossing the Vibranium disc into a tree in the teaser. When he sat down with ComicBook.com to discuss the upcoming second season of Netflix’s sci-fi series Altered Carbon, he revealed why this ordeal startled him, saying:
“I was surprised that they used me because you have a double, a dude that looks like you who’s like a gymnast and he does all this stuff. That’s when they’re like, ‘All right, Anthony, you do it.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, you just saw what this dude did! How you gonna asked me to do that?’ So, I was surprised when I saw the Super Bowl trailer that they actually used me throwing the shield.”
Mackie also commented on the weight of the shield. It appears Vibranium isn’t light, and there’s a reason someone needs to be strong if they’re going to walk around calling themselves Captain America.
“That thing is heavy dude. That thing is it’s like 12 pounds. So you’re standing there with 12 pounds on your arm all day after a while your shoulder just gives. So, we have some pretty cool shield throwing sequences.”
It appears it wasn’t easy becoming the new Cap, then, and perhaps this alludes to the struggle Wilson will have with living up to the impossible standards set by his predecessor. It’s not like the character’s had it very easy lately, either.
In the past few years, Wilson’s been a fugitive on the run, snapped out of existence, and then moments after he was brought back to life, he was handed the responsibility of being Captain America. That’s a lot to take on, so it’s understandable that it would take him a bit of time to master the shield, given everything else.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has become one of the most talked-about series from Marvel that’s headed for Disney+. According to recent reports, the show will allegedly unveil the MCU’s first Mutant, may introduce another black Captain America, tease Bucky’s new alias and hint at an unexpected return of a surprising character. Suffice it to say, there’s much to look forward to.