Avengers: Endgame faced the herculean task of tying up storylines from two decades worth of movies, and several more decades worth of comics history. One way the film did so was by ending Steve Rogers' run as Captain America when he passed on his shield to Sam Wilson aka Falcon. Some fans were outraged that Sam gets to be the new Captain America instead of Steve's oldest friend, the Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan. In a recent interview, Stan gave a detailed explanation of why he supported Steve's decision to pass his mantle on to Sam instead of Bucky.

"The MCU - as I saw it from my humble perspective - is a bit different in that regard to the comics. Where we arrived with him at the end felt more like he was in a place with a desire for some sort of release: to start over, start life again in a way, find out who he is again on his own and leave all this behind. Yes, it all happened, but at some point, you gotta own your mistakes, what happened and try to start over. That's where I felt like the character was at the end of Avengers: Endgame."

"It's also what he wanted for Steve. Like anybody that ends up traumatized by a war experience, he was affected by it for the rest of his life. So, what felt like a desire there was for a restart - for him and for Steve in a way. It didn't necessarily feel like the shield was gonna be that. Steve going back in time and saying, "I'm gonna take something for me now. I've been here for all these guys, and I've done the best I could. I'm just a man, and I'm going to go back and try to live my life." I feel that is something that Bucky would want for his best friend, and at the same time, Steve is saying to Bucky, "You're going to go and do that, too. I'm not going to put this thing on you. We're both going to live our lives - the lives that were actually taken from us back in the '40s when we enlisted." So, that's where I felt they were at the end of the movie."

"I don't think there's a desire or any conflicted thoughts about taking on that mantle. Sam, to me, was always the clear man to take on that mantle for numerous reasons, which also comes with so much more baggage that's going to be explored in the show. I guess you'll have to tune into Disney+ to find out why. (Laughs.) At the end of Endgame, for either Steve or Bucky, it's really not about the shield."

So from the perspective of Sebastian Stan, Steve's decision to pass on the shield was his way of declaring that he had done his part for the war effort, and now deserved a chance at a normal life. Just like Steve, Bucky had also been fighting a war for almost a century, and now forcing him into the role of the new Captain America was something neither Steve nor Bucky wanted.

However you feel regarding the explanation, it is clear Stan has a clear grasp on his character's motivations moving forward, as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes team up for their own Disney+ show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, set for release later this year. The Hollywood Reporter.