With The Falcon and the Winter SoldierFriday’s launch at Disney +, the audience has become familiar with our old friends Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. With a first episode that offers many scenarios for what is to come, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier promises to be a whiz-bang, smash-’em-up six parter, as well as a surprisingly deep and emotional look at what it really means to be Captain America. To get a better idea of how the series came about, we sat down with the director of all six episodes, Kari Skogland, to talk about Bucky Barnit’s time for therapy, being a woman working in “a muscle space” and why she thinks there are so many shootings in entertainment.
The AV Club: Wandavision it was a huge success for Disney + in terms of fan involvement with the show. Did that put pressure on you in terms of expectations? I actually talked to [showrunner] Jac Schaeffer’s Wandavision about this, but can you please everyone all the time when it comes to a Marvel project?
Kari Skogland: I’m sure we can’t. I’m just trying to stay true to the story we’re telling.
Wandavision came out of the gate swinging, and that’s fantastic. I was moved by them because it is such a creative program and so unique and different. I couldn’t have opened the whole streaming thing from Disney to Marvel better, as far as I can tell. They set the bar high, though, and how exciting is that for us?
I hope the fans embrace our show. We love doing this show. We are very, very proud of that. I hope the fans embrace you as much as we love doing it. I’m sure [Jac] would say the same. I just hope that our fans are so engaged.
It’s amazing that the fan base is so interested in these characters and so interested. I think this is extraordinary.
AVC: I heard the show was compared to an action comedy, and some previews mentioned that it is reminiscent of some beloved action movies. Did you watch anything in reference? What was on your mood board?
KS: This is a great way to put it. The way I try to get inspiration and ideas is from a very, very wide range of different genres, even if I’m looking at a particular performance, mainly because I want it to have some originality. I wanted the show to not only have my personal voice, but also embrace other ideas that I could bring to the genre. So, it’s about feeding these synapses, messing with the pan and creating something that, I hope, is original.
So I see a wide range, all cinematographically, from a David Lean to a film that Lina Wertmüller made. More recently, The Untouchables, 48 hours, and Lethal Weapon were some of the classics that we saw for sure, because we were in that type of arena. But the goal was to really embrace all aspects of relationship films as much as we could, because we had a lot more real estate and a lot more time to explore these characters.
I wanted to be informed, however, so I bubbled it all together, “put it there, put it there” and, hopefully, become something new.
AVC: There are some huge action pieces in the first episode. You’ve worked on action projects before, but I have to imagine that there is still a learning curve when it comes to, say, filming a dog fight in a canyon. What was the most difficult defining piece for you to discover?
KS: I think that all action sequences should serve the character, the story and the story of the character. So, I looked at each of them as having a unique angle and a unique perspective. I wanted each action sequence to have its own unique DNA at its core. So, we really looked at how to mix it up in a way that was not just visually satisfying from a certain perspective, but really from a character.
I see action sequences the same way you look at a drama sequence: it still has a beginning, middle and end, and there is violence in some way that is based on the character.
I think one of the things I did as a kind of overview was to reduce the armament. This means that all the things we choreograph come from a different type of mentality, and that just by definition it brings a different flavor to a scene.
AVC: Why did you decide to do this?
KS: For obvious reasons. I think we need to look at weaponry in entertainment as being too much of a crutch. We wanted our characters to be smart and interesting, and not just reliable.
AVC: Watching the first episode, I was really impressed by the emotional state that these guys would be in when we met them. We lost two Avengers. Half the people in the world – including some of our characters here – have been gone for five whole years. A lot has changed. Bucky was a hit man for decades! He definitely should be in therapy, so I’m glad he is, frankly.
KS: I think all of these characters have seen or been involved in very traumatic events, and I don’t think Marvel has ever shied away from exploring the consequences of some of those events. We only have a little more time to do this. In our case, we can explore it at a more detailed character level just because we have time.
So, yes, I’m looking at the consequences, seeing, you know, he left a trail of victims and there is collateral damage. What is it like and what is it like for a guy who has to deal with what it is like to move on? He will have to do something to be able to find any relevance to his future in relation to where he sits as a result of his past.
AVC: In previous interviews, you talked about the glass ceiling for women directors. What does it mean to you to have that chance on a large scale, and how are you helping other women along the way?
KS: It was a great opportunity. If Captain America knocks on your door, you answer the door.
I was thrilled to tell the story, because I feel that it really is one of the most important stories of this century because of the themes and the relevance to what is happening now in our world. So it was very supportive of my political thoughts and opinions and what I like to incorporate into entertainment. So, I was absolutely thrilled.
I think that going forward, what I hope is that I can be part of the wave because there are a number of women who are making great films and programs like this. Marvel is also at the forefront of promoting this.
Very soon, I hope we will no longer say “female directors” or “male directors” or “black directors” or “Chinese directors”. I hope that soon we can say just drive or write so that labels and genders and ethnicity contain less.
Obviously, I like to work in a muscle space. I enjoy working in a world that is very challenging and is not what we consider to be female stereotyped. I think men can do the same thing. It’s about the passion of the filmmaker. It’s about the sensitivity of the film. Therefore, I would hate for the world to reach a place where only women can tell stories of women. Only men can tell stories of men. I think it has to come from the heart, the skill set and the hard work it takes to get anywhere you are successful and leave it at that, instead of getting involved in other policies.