The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

By September 2018, Marvel Studios was developing several limited series for its parent company Disney's streaming service, Disney+, to be centered on supporting characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films who had not starred in their own films. The actors who portrayed the characters in the films were expected to reprise their roles for the limited series. The series were expected to be six to eight episodes each and have a "hefty [budget] rivaling those of a major studio production". The series would be produced by Marvel Studios rather than Marvel Television, which produced previous television series in the MCU. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was believed to be taking a "hands-on role" in each series' development,[25] focusing on "continuity of story" with the films and "handling" the actors who would be reprising their roles from the films.[26]

Malcolm Spellman was hired to write a limited series that would focus on Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson / Falcon and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier at the end of October 2018.[27][26] Mackie and Stan had both previously expressed interest in starring in an MCU spin-off film together, with Stan comparing the potential idea to buddy comedy films like Midnight Run (1988) and 48 Hrs. (1982).[28] Marvel and Disney officially announced the series in April 2019, with the title The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.[5] The next month, the miniseries was confirmed to consist of six episodes, and Kari Skogland was hired to direct.[2] Budgets for each episode were reported to be as much as $25 million.[1] Feige described The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as the "cinematic experience" of an MCU film that spans six episodes,[29] each 40–50 minutes in length.[30]

Derek Kolstad joined the series' writing team in July 2019,[31] and said he would be bringing "a wink and a nod" to the style of world building and character development from his film franchise John Wick.[32] Kolstad felt the series taking secondary characters from the films and "putting them in the primary roles" resulted in them becoming "cooler" and "more interesting", adding "[t]here's more humanity, more longing, more suffering and coming to grips with who and what they are." Additionally, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier features some characters "from the earliest Marvel [films]" that have been layered in and reinvented "in a way that's gonna shift the storytelling structure".[33]

The series begins after the film Avengers: Endgame (2019), which depicts Steve Rogers bequeathing his shield and the mantle of Captain America to Wilson.[2][7] Mackie clarified that Wilson did not agree to being Captain America in Endgame, with The Falcon and Winter Soldier "walk[ing] the line of who is going to take up the shield and who's going to be Captain America if Steve isn't coming back."[8] Feige stated that though the series is set in the MCU, "it's more of a reflection of the real world. Considering it was written [in 2019], it has only become more relevant and more poignant for our time."[34] Kolstad stated that the series would explore reactions to a black man becoming Captain America,[35] while series composer Henry Jackman felt it "touches on less comfortable... weighty issues" such as what kind of person should hold the shield and what it means to do so, and given the racial history of America, "how African Americans would feel about being Captain America or not".[36]

Spellman wanted to "go home" with the characters and let the actors show their skills rather than simply focus on action in the series.[9] Stan said the series' tone is similar to that of the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), explaining that the series is "grounded and very much in the world as we know it". He added that being able to explore the characters over six hours with the series gave them "so much more mileage" and allowed the characters to be in new situations that would not be possible in a two-hour film.[37] Jackman agreed with the ability to "explore backstories" given the six hour-long episodes.[36] The buddy and action genres influenced the series,[38] while Jackman described The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as a psychological drama.[36]

Stan and Mackie at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con promoting the series

With the official announcement of the series in April 2019 came confirmation that Mackie and Stan would reprise their roles of Wilson and Barnes, respectively, in the series.[5] The next month, Daniel Brühl and Emily VanCamp entered negotiations to reprise their film roles of Helmut Zemo and Sharon Carter, respectively.[2] Brühl was confirmed for the series in July 2019,[10] and VanCamp was confirmed a month later when Wyatt Russell was announced to be cast in the series as John Walker.[13]

Set photos in November 2019 revealed Adepero Oduye would appear in the series,[19] while Desmond Chiam and Miki Ishikawa joined the cast a month later.[20] Noah Mills was cast in January 2020,[21] and the following month, Carl Lumbly joined the cast.[22] Additional set photos in September 2020 revealed Georges St-Pierre would be reprising his role as Georges Batroc from Captain America: The Winter Soldier,[16] and that Erin Kellyman had joined the cast.[39] The following month, Danny Ramirez was cast in "a pivotal role".[23] Kellyman's involvement was confirmed in December.[4][18] In February 2021, Don Cheadle revealed that he appears in the series in his MCU role of James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine.[17]

Filming began on October 31, 2019,[40] at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia,[41][42] with Skogland directing,[2] and P.J. Dillon serving as the cinematographer.[43] The series is filmed under the working title Tag Team.[44] Mackie and Stan announced the official start of filming on November 4.[45] Mackie compared filming the series to production on the MCU films, saying it felt like shooting a six-hour film that would then be cut up into individual episodes rather than filming one episode at a time.[46] Location shooting took place in the Atlanta metropolitan area from November through February 2020.[47][48][49][50]

In mid-January 2020, filming was expected to take place in Arecibo, Puerto Rico for two weeks. However, because of earthquakes on the island, production was suspended.[51] On March 3, the production was revealed to be moving to Prague, Czech Republic for three weeks until March 25,[52] with filming in the city starting on March 6 and expected to continue until the week of March 16. However, filming for the series was halted on March 10 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and members of the production returned to Atlanta.[53] Stan said filming would be completed once it was safe to do so,[54] estimating there "were probably at least two or three" more weeks of filming to complete.[37]

In early May, the Czech Republic allowed television and film productions to start up if they followed new hygienic guidelines for cast and crew members.[55][56] In late June, the head of the Czech film commission announced that cast and crew involved in film and TV productions would be exempt from the European Union travel ban on U.S. citizens that would take effect on July 1.[57][58] Production was also scheduled to resume at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in August.[59] In early September, filming occurred at Atlantic Station,[60] and by the end of the month VanCamp had finished filming her scenes.[61] Filming resumed in Prague by October 10, 2020,[62] and wrapped on October 23.[63][64] Shooting occurred at the Monastery of Saint Gabriel in Smíchov and at Olšany Cemetery.[64] According to Mackie, the cast and crew were subjected to strict quarantine and social distancing measures while filming in Prague.[65]

Henry Jackman, who scored Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, began scoring the series by December 2020.[66]