Bucky Barnes was introduced alongside Chris Evans' Steve Rogers in Captain America: Civil War.

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Sam Wilson is introduced in Winter Soldier as an ex-pararescue airman and veterans affairs officer and, with the help of his Falcon jet-pack suit, he helps Rogers and fellow rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Natasha Romanoff, Nick Fury and Maria Hill bring down Hydra, which had taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. As best friends do, both Wilson and Barnes ed Captain America in his faction and stance against the Sokovia Accords and Iron Man's team in Captain America: Civil War. Both Falcon and the Winter Soldier have been defined by their proximity to and friendship with Steve Rogers throughout their time in the MCU.

It's a touching moment at the end of Avengers: Endgame when Steve Rogers/Captain America goes back in time to return the Infinity Stones. It brings Rogers' two closest friends together and gives him the chance to say goodbye, given his intention to return to Peggy Carter in the past and spend his life with her. The scene is fraught with hints about who might replace Steve Rogers as the next Captain America, and the TV show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will likely explore who is the most worth successor. But the two need to move on and forge their own destiny in the MCU, independent of Steve Rogers.

Both Falcon and Winter Soldier have a complex backstory. Bucky was brainwashed, intermittently frozen, and completed the will of Hydra for decades before breaking free and reing Rogers. Wilson served in the Air Force as a pararescue airman and witnessed his wing-man die in combat before dedicating his life to helping returned veterans. Both have motivations for being the heroes they are, and for becoming a new version of Captain America, but they will need to realize their path as the Cap will not be the same as Rogers'.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has the opportunity to explore the lives of these two characters as distinct from Rogers, and it will need to do so if it's to move into MCU Phase 4 with Wilson and Barnes as their own fully defined characters. Though he still exists in the MCU as an elderly man, Rogers has given up on the superhero life, handing the shield on to his friends. Whatever missions the two tackle together – and there appear to be plenty of villains for Falcon and Winter Soldier to take down – they'll be doing it without the help of the senior Avenger and their best friend. The trailer for the show certainly hints at the two coming to with their place in the MCU and with their spiky relationship, but The Falcon and the Winter Soldier needs to fully commit to bringing the two characters out of the shadow of Steve Rogers if it's to make its mark on the wider MCU and Phase 4 moving forward.

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