The Falcon and the Winter Soldier not only included an appearance by the Dora Milaje but even paid a brief visit to the nation of Wakanda in a flashback. The MCU’s proper return to the home of the Black Panther is saved for the movie’s sequel, officially titled Black Panther: World of Wakanda.
“It’s dope,” Anthony Mackie tells ET’s Lauren Zima of the title reveal. “I feel like continuing that legacy is very important. There are a bunch of amazing actors and actresses under that Black Panther mantle who are now going to come together, and that legacy will live on. So, I’m really excited that they’re showing that it’s not specifically about Black Panther, but it’s about Wakanda.”
While Falcon and Winter Soldier mainly focused on Bucky’s connections to Wakanda, Mackie’s Sam Wilson ultimately got his own hookup: His new Captain America flight suit is custom-made by, it seems, Shuri. So, could he also appear in World of Wakanda? “I do have a Wakanda visa, so I can go to Wakanda as much as I want,” the actor laughs. “I have a passport and a Wakanda visa and I’m vaccinated, so I can go to Wakanda.”
Whether that would be right for the sequel, however, is to be determined. “It’s strange now, because of the amount of respect and admiration I have for Chad, having known him for so long,” he says of the late Chadwick Boseman. “You just want to do everything the right way. I don’t know what that answer is. I don’t know what that right thing is. I just want to make sure that it’s done right for him.”
In the meantime, Mackie is stepping away from the MCU and into Solos, Amazon’s upcoming series from Hunters creator David Weil. The monologue-based anthology centers each episode around a different character, played by the likes of Uzo Aduba, Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Helen Mirren and, of course, Mackie.
“You don’t want to be the weak link, because you’re dealing with some heavy hitters. I don’t want people to watch it and go, ‘Man, that was great. Anthony’s episode though…'” he deadpans. The experience of shooting the show felt almost like theater for Mackie. “So, I got to go back to all of my notes and stuff from Juilliard and really work on this character, like I did when I was 18. It was different. It was very different and very cathartic and exhausting at the same time.”
Solos is set in the near future and delves into the characters’ most isolated of moments, though Mackie’s episode sees him sharing the screen with… himself. Without spoiling any surprises, Mackie plays Tom, who, when faced with his own mortality, purchases a controversial new product that guarantees he will be remembered after he’s gone.
“As an actor, on a personal level, I’ve never had the opportunity to be a human. Like, to be,” he says. “And a character like this, to be able to sacrifice and see so much and really touch that humane side of a character and create someone, it’s very unique and rare… I came home and cried and apologized to my boys for, like, two weeks. Because it really was something that was very personal to me and that character became someone who was very personal, as well. He became my friend. He became my confidant. He became a part of me.”
