After all the frantic speculation that frothed up around WandaVision, one might think that the Marvel TV fandom had learned its lesson. But here they are, just a few weeks later, tying themselves up in knots around the latest mysteries of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Who is the Power Broker? Who is the mystery character appearing in Episode 5? And does the arrival of Florence Kasumba’s Wakandan warrior Ayo mean that even more Black Panther characters are on their way?
The most extreme speculation bubbling up even has a few fans wondering if there might be a secret T’Challa appearance on the horizon filmed by Chadwick Boseman before his death last year. But that, longtime Marvel producer Nate Moore insists, is not the case.
“No. I can say. That is not going to happen,” Moore said from Atlanta, Georgia where he is prepping the Black Panther sequel. “I would be honest if it was. Chad’s passing is a whole life thing, and I loved the guy as much as the character. I think we have to be very careful and thoughtful about when he appears, because he meant so much to a lot of people as much as he meant to us. But yeah, we wouldn’t use that as a ‘Come next week; maybe you’ll see Panther!’ We wouldn’t, and he’s not.”
Series director Kari Skogland also sheds a little light on the fandom’s speculation about Emily VanCamp’s character, Sharon Carter, and whether she is also the mysterious figure known as the Power Broker. Some viewers are speculating that Sharon didn’t go into the shipping container lab along with Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Sam (Anthony Mackie), and Zemo (Daniel Brühl) in episode 3 because she was trying to avoid being identified as the Power Broker by super soldier serum scientist Dr. Nagel. But as Skogland explains, the truth was much more practical.
“I literally said, guys, how many people are you going to put in this room with Nagel?” Skogland said. “I’ve got four actors and Nagel. We can’t have Sharon in there because it’s too many people. And so what can we have her do? She’s like Atomic Blonde, holding off the enemy at the gates.”
Does that mean Sharon is not the Power Broker? Not necessarily. But it does put those fond of speculation back at square one.
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