Series Phase 4 — The Blip & New Beginnings (2023)

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Season 1)

Name: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Season 1)
Released: 2021-03-19
Duration: 300 min
Rating: 7.6
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Daniel Brühl

"Honor the shield."

Released March 19, 2021 5h ★ 7.6TMDB ✦ Recommended

Following the events of “Avengers: Endgame”, the Falcon, Sam Wilson and the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities, and their patience.

Watch note

Sam Wilson becomes Captain America. The shield passes from Steve to Sam — the arc Brave New World continues. Sam confirmed for Doomsday.

Why It Matters in the MCU

The series uses its six-episode format to interrogate what it means for Sam Wilson to become Captain America — not as symbolic gesture but as a political act in a country with a specific history around Black men in positions of national authority. Isaiah Bradley's storyline, in which the US government experimented on Black soldiers with the super-soldier serum and then imprisoned the survivor, is the MCU's most direct engagement with American racial history. The Flag Smashers as a post-Blip refugee movement are the MCU's most structurally sympathetic antagonists — their grievance is legitimate even when their methods aren't.

Watch These First

16 titles lead into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Season 1) — 36 hours in total, 12 of them essential.

Captain America: The First Avenger Essential 2h 4m ★ 7.0
Thor Essential 1h 55m ★ 6.8
The Avengers Essential 2h 23m ★ 8.1
Iron Man 3 2h 10m ★ 6.9
Thor: The Dark World 1h 52m ★ 6.5
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Essential 2h 16m ★ 7.7
Guardians of the Galaxy Essential 2h 1m ★ 7.9
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 2h 16m ★ 7.6
Avengers: Age of Ultron Essential 2h 21m ★ 7.3
Captain America: Civil War Essential 2h 27m ★ 7.4
Black Panther Essential 2h 14m ★ 7.4
Spider-Man: Homecoming 2h 13m ★ 7.3
Doctor Strange Essential 1h 55m ★ 7.4
Thor: Ragnarok Essential 2h 10m ★ 7.6
Avengers: Infinity War Essential 2h 29m ★ 8.2
Avengers: Endgame Essential 3h 2m ★ 8.2

Create a watch plan for these 16

Opens the planner with just these titles, so you can set your own pace.

Where It Fits in the MCU

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Season 1) sits at position 114 of 165 in the MCU's story-chronological order, placing it within the Phase 4 — The Blip & New Beginnings (2023) era. It is rated Recommended — enriches the story but not strictly required. Watching in story-chronological order provides the most coherent character development experience — individual arcs build naturally toward the franchise's major crossover events, with each film's post-credits scenes carrying forward into what follows.