Avengers: Endgame, but not until Falcon & The Winter Soldier did the true weight of that transition hit home. The Disney+ miniseries forces Sam to grapple not only with the pressure of succeeding an all-time great like Steve Rogers, but also with representing a country that carries a long (and all too recent) history of racial inequality. Of course, Sam eventually navigates these waters of trepidation, and takes up the Captain America mantle officially, combining the stars-and-stripes with his usual Falcon attire.
When a streaming original ends, it's becoming customary to announce future projects that couldn't be disclosed earlier for fear of spoilers. The Book of Boba Fett's confirmation in the immediate aftermath of Falcon & The Winter Soldier's finale was followed by reports of a Captain America 4 in the pipeline. The MCU movie will star Sam Wilson's Cap as an established superhero - the legitimate heir to Rogers' red, white and blue throne. A second Falcon & The Winter Soldier season might also come to , but in of continuing Sam's MCU journey, Captain America 4 is a far superior option.
Falcon & The Winter Soldier's biggest sin was cramming too many ideas into its brisk 6-episode run. Despite only having a few hours to play with, Falcon & The Winter Soldier charged itself with exploring Sam's evolution into Cap, Bucky's redemption, Sharon Carter's turn to evil, John Walker's rise and fall, Zemo's comeback, Madripoor's introduction, systematic racism in America, Flag-Smashers, Earth's post-Blip hangover, and Turkish Delight. That's an insane amount of plot points for 6 installments, and it's no surprise that Falcon & The Winter Soldier couldn't do justice to every one of them. Instead of drowning Sam Wilson's fledgling Captain America in the context of a TV series, returning to the standard MCU 2-hour movie formula will prove way more beneficial. The focus can remain fully on Wilson as he experiences his first solo supervillain, and all of the peripheral drama can orbit around the new Cap, rather than being scattered across a TV cast. In Falcon & The Winter Soldier season 2, on the other hand, Sam would merely be one component of a larger ensemble.
Falcon & The Winter Soldier season 1 sets up a host of future MCU projects - but not necessarily a season 2. Baron Zemo, Contessa and U.S. Agent are the genesis of a Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts storyline, and a team of that magnitude deserves a movie or TV series of its own. Contessa was originally supposed to debut in Black Widow, after all, so her future probably doesn't lie in Falcon & The Winter Soldier season 2. Sharon Carter's Power Broker could be involved in Bucky Barnes well either. The final title card changes to "Captain America & The Winter Soldier" but Bucky has laid his murky HYDRA past to rest by this point. Were Sebastian Stan to appear in a Falcon & The Winter Soldier season 2, the show's very premise would undermine Bucky's recent development. All of the above considered, there's no obvious reason to continue Falcon & The Winter Soldier, nor any clear narrative to follow, since all the major players are being handled elsewhere.
Falcon & The Winter Soldier was never intended as a long-term tent-pole of the MCU - it's a transitional story designed to move Sam Wilson from Falcon to Captain America, and Bucky from the Winter Soldier to... something else. Despite the show's weaknesses, that goal has been achieved, and Sam now deserves the same big screen treatment afforded to Steve Rogers, while Bucky can begin his next chapter, whatever and wherever that might be. Neither wins by returning to the Falcon & The Winter Soldier format, and the Captain America 4 reports suggest Marvel knows that.
