'The Falcon And The Winter Soldier' Is Like A Six-Hour Marvel Movie, Says Anthony Mackie

Whenever The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ends up debuting on Disney+, series star Anthony Mackie says fans will be treated to a show that feels like a six-hour Marvel movie. Although that speaks to the quality of the production matching what is usually seen on the big screen, Mackie also thinks Marvel productions could use some improvement when it comes to diversity behind the scenes.

Our first official look at footage from Marvel's upcoming Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier feels like it arrived ages ago, but it was just back in February during the Super Bowl. Shooting got shut down on the series towards the end of the production schedule thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but if all goes well, the last little bit of shooting will be complete by the end of the summer or the beginning of fall. But that could prove to be a bit of a challenge with all the new policies in place to help keep the cast and crew safe from COVID-19, especially since Mackie says the production feels like a long Marvel movie.

In a recent interview with Variety, Mackie hyped up the series by saying:

"We're shooting it exactly like a movie. Everybody who had worked on TV before was like, 'I've never worked on a TV show like this.' The way in which we were shooting, it feels exactly like we were shooting the movie cut up into the show. So instead of a two-hour movie, a six or eight-hour movie."

Mackie added that even though this is a Marvel production, there's certainly more budget constraints this time around. However, they're still using the same people who work on the movies. The actor noted:

"It was the same group of people, coming together to make it work. And so the stunt stuff — everything is just on another level. Every show, every movie, they just push it — they push the envelope so much. So hopefully, knock on wood, we'll be going back soon."

However, Mackie also notes that Marvel Studios needs to step it up when it comes to rounding up talent behind the scenes. In the same interview, the actor lamented the lack of diversity he's noticed across the many Marvel movies that he's made. Mackie said:

"It really bothered me that I've done seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, every stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white."

Mackie noted that Nate Moore has been the only Black producer that he's seen working on Marvel Studios productions, with the exception of Black Panther. But Mackie also too umbrage with the fact that Black Panther seemed to almost exclusively hire Black people, saying:

"But then when you do Black Panther, you have a Black director, Black producer, you have a Black costume designer, you have a Black stunt choreographer. And I'm like, that's more racist than anything else. Because if you only can hire the Black people for the Black movie, are you saying they're not good enough when you have a mostly white cast?"

Mackie makes a fair point, and Marvel's problem is the same one that Hollywood has as a whole. Though studios and networks have made great strides in having more diverse productions, there is still much more to be done. Since Marvel is leading the way as far as major, successful film productions go, they need to show even more leadership in hiring a diverse roster of talent. Yes, they should be hiring the best person for the job first and foremost, but there are a lot of talented people of color out there who simply aren't being noticed, even if they are the best person for the job, and that has to change.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was supposed to arrive on Disney+ in August, but we're not sure that's still going to be the case, especially since there's been no official announcement and more work still needs to be done on the series.