Will Bucky Become Captain America?

With the latest installment of Marvel's Captain America franchise set to hit theaters on May 6, superhero fanatics are wondering what's going to happen to Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans), his team, and his frenemy Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) next. I sat down with Stan while he was promoting his latest film, The Bronze, and asked about the fate of Captain America: Civil War's favorite heroes.

One theory is that Steve Rodgers could come to his final end in the not so distant future, leaving an opening for a new team leader. After all, Chris Evans' contract is almost up, and that leaves the Avengers without a captain. Could Bucky, Cap's righthand man, ever step into those shiny red boots? "I don't know how I would say no to that," Stan says. "I mean, it's such a tough question because it's so not up to me. I'd love to see it one day. There's a lot in the comic books that still need to be explored. I think it would be an amazing, interesting, challenging thing to want to explore as an actor."

So what could prevent Bucky from becoming the next Cap? Well, there are a lot of pieces at play, and according to Stan, the fans are a driving force behind the decision Marvel makes for it's onscreen characters. "So much depends on the powers that be and a lot on the fans — what the fans want to see and what they're ready for. I think audiences are really powerful and extremely smart. They are ahead of us in a lot of ways. So they are much more a part of decisions than they might think."

While we know Stan is up for the challenge — is Bucky? "It would be a tremendous responsibility for him to step into those shoes as a character. I'll say this: I think before that happens, Bucky's gotta get a hell of a lot healthier than he is right now. And he ain't that great. To be seen!"

I'll let Marvel megafans debate what Stan means when he refers to Bucky's (mental? Physical?) health, and if there is indeed a real possibility of Bucky taking on a much larger leadership role in Marvel films to come.

"For now, I'm having an amazing time doing what I'm doing. I'm very happy with the situation," Stan concludes.

Captain America: Civil War hits theaters May 6.

Images: Marvel; Tumblr