Don"t Worry, Marvel Debunked The Worst Theory About Bucky 3 Years Before Thunderbolts* Was Even Announced

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One major and harrowing theory about Bucky Barnes has emerged about Thunderbolts* based on its trailer - but the MCU already debunked it several years ago. The main Thunderbolts* cast being comprised of several notable villains and antiheroes from previous chapters of the MCU is one of the key selling points of the upcoming Marvel movie, with much excitement for the film centering around how it will combine these characters together into one unusual team. With so many different ways these characters could all relate to one another, it"s natural that a lot of theories have cropped up regarding the impending story.
This is especially true following the release of the Thunderbolts* trailer, which allowed viewers to speculate more about what happens based on snippets of the film. However, some of these theories seem more likely than others. Indeed, one controversial theory that"s cropped up about Bucky Barnes and what his story might look like based on the trailer appears to mercifully have already been undermined by previous reveals in the MCU timeline - which is likely to come as something of a relief for many fans of the character based on how much it would have made him suffer.
The Thunderbolts* Trailer Sparked The Theory Bucky Becomes The Winter Soldier Again Bucky Barnes' Behavior In The Thunderbolts* Trailer Sparked A Theory He's Reverted To Being The Winter Soldier Close The Thunderbolts* trailer revealed a lot of interesting things about what to expect from the upcoming MCU movie, and also raised a series of interesting theories about the story about to unfold. One of these focused around the long-term story of one key Marvel hero, with the theory positing that Bucky Barnes becomes The Winter Soldier once more in the movie.
This idea appears to come mainly from the scene in the trailer where Bucky shoots a rocket launcher at a car containing other members of the team - a scene that has a direct parallel with Barnes using a rocket launcher while he"s under the effects of the brainwashing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Similarly, the trailer doesn"t have a great deal in the way of moments showing Bucky definitely as a member of the group - or even showing him talking or interacting in a way that seems more in line with Bucky himself than his Winter Soldier alter ego.
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine - who has been positioned as the figure to bring the team together and set up their mission - has already been established as a manipulative figure willing to bend others to her will. As such, it would seemingly be in character for her to reset Bucky's previous brainwashing and use it against him, allowing her to have access to a human weapon with no free will to oppose her. 6 Years Ago, Marvel Revealed How Shuri Deprogrammed Bucky The MCU Already Showed That Shuri Got Rid Of Bucky's Winter Soldier Programming Triggers

While this theory does draw from the Thunderbolts* trailer itself, the MCU"s prior history seems to directly oppose it. Following Captain America: Civil War, Bucky returned in Avengers: Infinity War seemingly free of his Winter Soldier programming, allowing him to build a new path forward for himself.
Avengers Infinity War Prelude #1 shed more light on the specifics of how this was possible in early 2018. The comic showed Shuri undoing Bucky"s brainwashing, with her explaining that she"d developed an intricate algorithm that could "flush the influence of the trigger words" while ensuring Barnes was still able to retain his memories and personality. This appears to remain the official MCU explanation for how the Winter Soldier deprogramming happened, which presents issues for the Thunderbolts* theory.
Why It's Impossible For Bucky To Become The Winter Soldier Again Shuri Removed The Way For Bucky's Winter Soldier Persona To Ever Become Active Again Close Shuri removing the influence of the triggers that made Bucky Barnes into the Winter Soldier means there"s no way for him to return to this state, since they were what reverted him to that form. This appears to have put a full stop on Bucky"s time as the Winter Soldier, with his story instead moving on to delving into the complicated matter of what life would look like for someone who was brainwashed into being an assassin for an evil shadowy organization and then found their freedom so many years after.
Indeed, given The Falcon And The Winter Soldier directly focuses on Bucky exploring the aftermath of his deprogramming, and his trauma from his years of being a brainwashed assassin, it seems unlikely the franchise is about to turn back time for him in terms of forcing him back into the alias. Making Bucky into the Winter Soldier again would not only undermine his character growth during this time, but would also render this chapter of his life effectively pointless, since in many ways he"d be having to start all over once more.
How Thunderbolts* Can Still Deal With Bucky's Winter Soldier Persona Thunderbolts* Is Still Set To Deal With The Winter Soldier, But In A Different Way Close Though it doesn"t look like Thunderbolts* will be having Bucky once again become the Winter Soldier, that doesn"t mean the movie won"t still deal with the persona. The director and cast of Thunderbolts* have mentioned that the movie explores the mental health of its characters following their respective stories in the MCU thus far, and doing so with Bucky naturally means some amount of focus will be on his time as the Winter Soldier, and the lingering impact this traumatic time has had on the character even after starting on his healing path in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier.
Given how much of Bucky"s life this experience took up, it stands to reason that the Winter Soldier is still at the forefront of his mind, even if he no longer is beholden to the trigger words previously used to make him into that figure. With Thunderbolts* taking Bucky back into a world of antiheroes that"s sure to remind him of his time as a brainwashed HYDRA agent, it wouldn"t be shocking for the quiet demeanor shown in the movie"s trailer to simply be reflective of him dealing with these lingering memories while taking part in the events of the story.

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Thunderbolts* Marvel's Thunderbolts* is a superhero movie based on the comic team of the same name. The movie acts as a part of the MCU's fifth phase of films. The film sees the likes of Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell, the Red Guardian, and more as an unlikely group of heroes and villains brought together to fight for good.
Release Date May 2, 2025 Cast Florence Pugh , Sebastian Stan , David Harbour , Wyatt Russell , Olga Kurylenko , Hannah John-Kamen , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Geraldine Viswanathan , Lewis Pullman , Joshua Mikel Upcoming MCU Movies

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Captain America: Brave New World
Release Date February 14, 2025

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Thunderbolts*
Release Date May 2, 2025

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Release Date July 25, 2025

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Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
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Spider-Man Homecoming 4
Release Date July 24, 2026

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Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date May 7, 2027

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