Anthony Mackie playing the role of Sam Wilson (aka Falcon) as the new Captain America. | Photo: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Official Facebook
Cover Anthony Mackie playing the role of Sam Wilson (aka Falcon) as the new Captain America. | Photo: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Official Facebook

Find out how Falcon—aka Captain America—flies differently compared to other Marvel heroes as told by Eric Leven, the VFX Supervisor of Marvel Studios' The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Spoilers ahead!

It has been weeks since the premiere of Marvel Studios' The Falcon and The Winter Soldier season finale. At long last, Sam Wilson (played by Anthony Mackie) takes up the mantle of Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) as the new Captain America. We have not even recovered from Sam's polemic speech—one that resonates with people in the real world. But apart from the highly-anticipated plot, a talented cast and admirable characters, the show has a laudable VFX team that has made both the viewing experience and story marvellous.

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A recent video showing behind the scenes of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier reveals how the story and VFX come together in portraying Sam's character. For instance, the VFX team wanted to make sure each action scene to be grounded in reality. "So, obviously, we don't have Anthony Mackie flying around in a real jetpack and real wings," Eric Leven, the show's VFX Supervisor shared. "But we want to make it feel like—if he was, how would we film that?"

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Photo: Marvel Entertainment / YouTube
Above Photo: Marvel Entertainment / YouTube

Other superheroes, like Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr), also have the ability to fly. But the VFX team wanted to differentiate the flight pattern for Falcon. The visual language that the team was aiming for was to make Sam's flight appear as real as possible.

In the opening scene of the series, Sam jumps off a moving plane and flies onto the nose of another aircraft. If you've seen the first episode, you'd probably agree that it looks real—that's because it is. Even the people gliding across the sky in wingsuits were very much real as well.

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Photo: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Official Facebook
Above Photo: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Official Facebook

The team's efforts to make Sam's flight pattern different and realistic says a lot about the character as well. Unlike Steve, Sam is not a supersoldier. He is human just like the rest of us. And it is this depiction that makes the new Captain America pretty amazing.

"If you think about it, he was just a guy out for a jog and Captain America was like 'you're a good guy, I want you to be an Avenger'—what?" Anthony says during an interview.

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Photo: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Official Facebook
Above Photo: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Official Facebook

This isn't the first time Marvel has paid much attention to detail in their movies and TV shows. For instance, not long ago, a collage showing a scene in Captain America shows Steve chasing a bad guy while being surrounded by a crowd has resurfaced on social media. If one looks closely, they'll notice a woman in the background taking a photo of Steve. The photo that the women took was later used in an episode in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

There are much more to admire about the show. It's also enough to prepare Marvel fans for Loki, a new series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring the affable Tom Hiddleston playing Loki Laufeyson. 

Should you decide to watch any of these shows, remember to sit back, relax and pay close attention to details that point to phase four of Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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