In Infinity War, fans saw a healing Bucky Barnes living a quiet life in Wakanda, but an interview with Sebastian Stan leaves us wondering, could Avengers 4 bring the savage Winter Soldier back to life?

After three movies filled with pain after pain heaped on Bucky Barnes, fans were thrilled to see him living a tranquil life on a Wakandan farm during Avengers: Infinity War. But even then, war and disintegration followed quickly on the heels of peace, and now it seems as though recovery might be even further disrupted for one James Buchanan Barnes.

In a recent Sebastian Stan interview with Style Magazine Italia, the magazine seems to drop a big Avengers 4 spoiler:

Not to mention that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most profitable franchise ever, with a new Avengers installment coming in 2019. Among the characters there will also be the Winter Soldier, the ruthless assassin reborn from Bucky Barnes’ ashes: for Stan it will be the fifth episode of the saga.

Since the comment doesn’t come directly from Stan, and the article itself has been translated from its native tongue, there is a grain of salt that must be taken in considering its implications. But given that Bucky Barnes certainly was turned into literal ashes at the end of Infinity War, and a distinction appears to be being drawn between “Bucky Barnes” and “The Winter Soldier” in the magazine’s comments, there is a clear read of the lines that lead to a dark conclusion—one that leaves Bucky reverting into the darkest version of himself in Avengers 4, a self believed to be left far behind.

With speculation that those lost in the snap will live on, though perhaps differently, inside the Soul Stone and theories of time travel abounding, there is certainly no shortage of ways that The Winter Soldier can be brought back to the reality of the MCU. A truth that leaves this possibility very much on the table.

Further corroborating the story, Stan himself took to Instagram in the lead-up to Avengers: Infinity War, and commented heavily on posts surrounding an Entertainment Weekly article which indicated that Bucky would be known under his Wakandan name, “White Wolf,” moving forward. Seemingly of his own volition, Stan cautioned fans not to get too excited, with comments like “Always Winter baby,” “Don’t jump to conclusions too quick,” and even flat out said, “No,” to one fan who mourned the loss of the Winter Soldier. (See full screenshots here.)

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 were shot back to back after all, so Stan would have had full knowledge of his character arc at the time he made his comments, and since we didn’t see any of his warnings come to pass in Infinity War itself, it seems like there is still some part of the puzzle we are waiting for. The Winter Soldier returning in place of Bucky Barnes (or White Wolf) in the next movie would make perfect sense in this context, because otherwise what else could Stan have possibly been referring to?

With all that said, the one question I have to ask is, why? Why after everything Bucky has been through, after all the work put in to heal him, after his clear arc from hero to asset to person over a series of four movies, with screentime limited as it was, why would the MCU choose to bring him back to his start?

As a big fan of the character, I, for one, was looking forward to his journey into heroism, be that as Captain America, White Wolf, or just plain old Bucky. We’ve seen The Winter Soldier already, and to be frank, a brainwashed assassin can only do so much.

Would it be painful to experience? For Bucky, for Steve Rogers, and for the viewers?

Certainly.

But it seems like an emotional shot best not taken, given that every twist that Bucky has undergone has been painful, and so much of his character journey has been under the thumb of one force or another. It’s time for Bucky to have some agency, to be fleshed out and human, as even non-human Vision has gotten to be, to grow into whatever he will become in the next phase of the movies.

And if what he will be is just a reverted robotic version of himself…

That would be disappointing.

So what do you think, is the Winter Soldier looming in Avengers 4 or could Bucky be spared this ominous fate? Consider the evidence and sound off in the comments!