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When it came to figuring out the fighting sequences in Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, keeping things fresh was top of mind. That can be a tall task where the Marvel Cinematic Universe is concerned. After all, we’ve seen everything from people turned to dust mid-battle to epic space showdowns (and dance-offs). Kari Skoglang, who directed the series, had an idea for how to keep things fresh, though: lean away from superpowers and into good, old-fashioned fighting.
“Kari had a great idea that we all kind of fell in line with,” Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson, revealed during a press conference for the show. “You know, taking the idea of weaponry away so it’s more hand to hand combat. It’s more physical. It’s more assertive. It’s more of us utilizing our strengths, instead of something else.”
For Skogland, the choice to focus not just on hand-to-hand combat, but the rest of the physicality used in the fighting and action sequences was driven by the characters.
“Everything comes from a character base so I wanted the flight sequences with Sam to be the best they could be and be somehow extraordinary,” Skogland explained to GameSpot. “And I wanted each action sequence to have its own DNA and I didn’t want to just rely on the gun culture of it. So, for example, [for] the flight sequences I look to extreme sports, and what’s terrific is technology has allowed smaller cameras, and you can put them on all different parts of the body now.”
Taking a more grounded and realistic approach to the action makes sense for the characters at the heart of the story. While one’s equipped with robotic wings and the other has a super-powered metal arm, they’re both relatively human superheroes, something explored in more depth on the show. So massive CGI-stuffed blowout fights wouldn’t make sense.
Instead, Skogland says, the fighting and action sequences support the evolution of the characters. “You want to be with the characters for one reason or another and going with them on the ride,” she explained. “So it was all about trying to create an experiential quality and make sure that each had its own defined action box.”
Don’t expect a full season of fistfights, though. As the trailers show, there are some very over-the-top moments. And while they might be throwing more punches than you’re used to, “That’s now to say they didn’t have fun fights, but we certainly tried to mix everything up,” Skogland said.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier streams Fridays on Disney+.
