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After Chris Evans was announced as being Captain America, the question now is who will round out the rest of the cast for Joe Johnston’s THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA. Well today it appears that Marvel has added Sebastian Stan (who can currently be seen as the 1980’s A-hole foil in HOT TUB TIME MACHINE) for the role of “Bucky”, who in the comics is Cap’s trusty sidekick – the “Robin” to his “Batman” if you will. Stan was at one point on the list of actors rumored to be up for the role of Steve Rogers (aka Cap), though despite not getting that part, the powers that be must have liked him enough to call the guy back. Deadline is reporting that Sebastian close to signing on for the character.
The question now is which incarnation of Bucky the young actor will portray, as the character has gone through many changes in the comic storylines. In the original 1930’s comics, which granted were a reflection of different era, Bucky (James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes) was more of a happy-go-lucky sidekick who became friends with Steve Rogers upon learning his secret identity. That version was much more of a literary device to help young boys who read comics imagine themselves to be more identifiable with the characters – we couldn’t fathom what it must be like to be Cap, but imagining ourselves as someone like Bucky, made a little more sense. After Bucky was shot and seriously wounded in a 1948 Cap story, he was succeeded by Cap’s girlfriend Betsy Ross, who became the super heroine “Golden Girl.”
Many years later in the 1990’s storyline, Bucky was portrayed more as a street punk, who helps an uptight Steve Rogers. And then in the past decade, the character of Bucky was brought back as “Winter Soldier”, a much tougher and meaner hero, who at one point takes Captain America’s place. However, Marvel has for many years used Bucky as a reason as to why they avoid young sidekicks for heroes, and even Stan Lee has been pretty outspoken over his dislike for the character. On a personal level, while I understood why Bucky was there originally, I never much cared for the character, and see him as a hindrance to the coolness of Cap. Maybe the film version can do something interesting with it, at least let’s hope. Incidentally, everything you could ever want to know about Bucky can be found HERE.
THR also confirms the casting, though states Marvel will only confirm Sebastian Stan is playing the character, but won’t comment on it. What are your thoughts on having Bucky in the Captain America movie? Tell us in the comments below.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
