As the behemoth that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe grinds on—the franchise spans five phases, nearly 40 films, and over a dozen TV series—it’s only natural that we’ve had to say goodbye to more than a few characters along the way. Whether they’ve been killed off (Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanov) or their stories seem to have come to a natural conclusion, at least for the moment (Clint Barton, Scott Lang, literally every Eternal), part of every story is its ending. And it seems like we may be about to reach that point for one James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, if only because the actor who plays him seems pretty ready to go do other things.

Though Sebastian Stan’s Bucky has long been a fan favorite, the MCU has often struggled to figure out what to do with the character, particularly ever since the events of Captain America: Civil War. And while he’s technically now the head of the so-called “New Avengers” thanks to the events of Thunderbolts and slated to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, Stan’s recent comments have sparked worry among many fans that the actor might be about to hang up his metal arm for good. 

During an appearance on the “Stronger Podcast,” Stan is complimentary about his time in the MCU, crediting his role across seven Marvel films and a Disney+ series with “really help[ing]” him grow as both an actor and a person. But it’s difficult not to notice that he repeatedly refers to his time as Bucky in the past tense and sounds more reflective than anticipatory. Does that mean we’ll be saying farewell to the Winter Soldier in Doomsday? It seems… more likely than a lot of us would probably like to admit. 

“I have to try to offer something different than before,” Stan said. “And I’ve never favored one role over another. The Marvel stuff, I’ll always, till the end of time, [feel it] really helped me grow as a person and helped me grow as an actor, and it taught me relationships and [I worked with] Robert Downey [Jr.] and Scarlett [Johansson] and all these people I looked up to. It was a business. It was a family, and it gave me a sense of belonging, and it’s always there for that, but it was only the step one for me.”

To be fair, Stan has achieved some of the biggest successes of his career over the past year, snagging an Oscar nomination for his performance as Donald Trump in The Apprentice and winning a Golden Globe for his starring role in A Different Man. It’s only natural that, professionally speaking, he wants to capitalize on that momentum.

“There was a significant part of my youth that I had to spend to get Americanized or to fit in and really find my way in a different way,” he said. “But it’s really now that I feel I’m finally getting to do the stuff I’ve always wanted to do.”

What this means for Bucky’s future is anyone’s guess. With rumors flying that Chris Evans will reprise his role as Steve Rogers in Doomsday, perhaps the two besties will finally get to ride off into the sunset together. They’ll just have to fix the multiverse first. 

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