The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: release date, when it's on Disney+ - and new Super Bowl trailer

A new trailer has been revealed for the upcoming Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

The new clip was shown off as part of the SuperBowl’s annual advertising extravaganza, and was accompanied by the announcement of an official release date.

At one point in time, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was expected to be the first Marvel TV series to come to the Disney+ streaming service.

That was before coronavirus delays forced production to be halted on the superhero series; Marvel’s reshaping of its plans saw WandaVision take its place and be given the honour of being the first new show on the platform.

It certainly has a lot to live up to. The quirky Paul Bettany and Elisabeth Olsen-starring series – which parodies classic sitcoms through the ages in a rather unique way – has garnered critical acclaim.

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is The Falcon and the Winter Soldier?

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier follows characters from the Captain America arm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), as they deal with the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame.

Anthony Mackie is back as Sam Wilson/Falcon, an Avenger and former pararescueman who was trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack.

At the end of Avengers: Endgame, he was handed the mantle of 'Captain America' by the all-American hero, but continues to go under the name of ‘Falcon’.

Sebastian Stan also reprises his role as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, an enhanced soldier who reemerged as a brainwashed assassin after being thought killed in action during World War II.

Daniel Brühl will be back as Baron Zemo, and the show (described as a "buddy action drama") is written by Empire TV series veteran Malcolm Spellman, and John Wick's Derek Kolstad.

The series – which will form part of the MCU’s "Phase Four” – will be six episodes long, and are each expected to be at least 40 minutes in length.

What happens in the new trailer?

The new trailer released during February’s Super Bowl game is an action packed affair, though not one without its comic moments too.

Capturing the imagination of fans in particular is a moment which sees the two main characters engaging in a tense staring competition.

We’re also given glimpses of Canadian actress Emily VanCamp in action as Sharon Carter, the niece of the MCU’s Peggy Carter, who has already had her own standalone MCU series.

It's just the latest in a long line of new Marvel projects for fans to get excited about: Loki, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk are all on the way to DIsney+ in the future, as is a new series set in Black Panther‘s fictional nation of Wakanda.

How will it affect the MCU?

At the time of writing, Marvel fans are still reeling from WandaVision developments that hint at an exciting future for the franchise.

It appears as if The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will provide similar ‘wow’ moments that will affect events on both the big and small screen.

Kolstad has said that taking secondary characters from the films and putting them in “primary roles" has resulted in them becoming "cooler" and "more interesting.”

Perhaps most interestingly, he has said the series will feature characters "from the earliest Marvel [films]" that have been reinvented "in a way that's gonna shift the storytelling structure.”

You can expect all of the usual cinematic action you’d want to see from a big-screen Marvel instalment too – budgets for each episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are reported to be as much as $25 million.

When can I watch it?

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is scheduled to debut on Disney+ on Friday 19 March 2021.

It had originally been expected to appear in August of last year, but Covid-19 forced Marvel to change its plans.