There may be a new Falcon flying in the MCU.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman seemed to confirm that Danny Ramirez’s character is Joaquin Torres, who may take over as a new Falcon from Sam Wilson.
Who is Joaquin Torres?
Introduced in 2015, Joaquin Torres was a Mexican-American immigrant in Arizona who was abducted by the sinister racist group the Sons of the Serpent. At the time, Sam Wilson had taken over as Captain America and rescued the captives.
Sam found Joaquin had been experimented on using Sam’s pet falcon Redwing and transformed into a human-bird hybrid with wings and bird-like senses. With the process irreversible, Sam trained Joaquin to become a new Falcon.
While Sam took back the Falcon mantle, Joaquin still uses it to help defend people in his home state.
Joaquin in the series
Speaking to ComicBookMovie, Spellman brought up Danny Ramirez’s role in the series. The actor (who stars in the upcoming Top Gun Maverick) had been rumored for the role of Joaquin, and Spellman appeared to confirm it by calling out the name.
Obviously, the same origins can’t be used. In the MCU, Redwing isn’t a real falcon but the code-name for a mini-flying part of Sam’s gear. Also, Ramirez is older than the teenager Joaquin is in the comics.
The best possibility is that Joaquin somehow aids Sam and Bucky in their adventures. It can be that he does so well that, if the series ends with Sam becoming the new Captain America, he passes the Falcon gear along to Joaquin.
The series tone
Spellman made it clear that this show would be “the antithesis” of WandaVision in that it focuses on the action and banter of Sam and Bucky over anything that creates major fan theories.
He also touched on how the series tackles issues of PTSD. Bucky is wrestling with his years as a brainwashed Hydra agent while he and Sam are also dealing with having been among those dusted by Thanos and returning five years later to a different world.
Well, the loss of Steve is the big one, because it hits on multiple levels, right? You have a planet that is now completely spun-out post snap, post Blip, right? And that’s the kind of problem when the entire world is dealing with one problem. That’s the kind of thing only a hero like Steve is qualified for, right. And we distilled that down to you have Sam or Bucky who people really wrote a lot more into their heads and actually happened as far as how deep their relationship is.
And they’re starting to discover through their relationship, the loss of Steve is very, very active because they’re just two dudes who had a mutual best friend in common and whether or not they like each other is tethered to the fact that a very important person has gone. So that connectivity from the bigger plot level and world level is sort of dramatized into character relationship.
Kevin Feige shot down a report that Chris Evans would be returning as Captain America with rumors the series opens with Steve Rogers having died and thus Sam fighting to become the new Captain America.
If that’s the case, Ramirez might be Sam’s own successor as the new Falcon for future MCU projects.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres on Disney+ on March 19.