That was actually the original plan

with the title change at the end of the final episode

, but according to head writer and executive producer Malcolm Spellman, it didn’t go through because

“they wanted the impact of

Captain America and the Winter Soldier

to land.”

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New concept art for the show points to this moniker being even more apparent in the story, but it didn’t move forward for whatever reason.

BUCKY BARNES AS THE WHITE WOLF

Earlier this month, concept artist Alan Villanueva uploaded two pieces from

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

on

Art Station

depicting Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes with outfits more closely echoing the title given to him by Wakanda.

Alan Villanueva via ArtStation

The

first piece

of concept art, titled “Bucky’s Wakanda-crafted Rehab Wrap,” shows Bucky Barnes wearing a completely white wardrobe during his stay in Wakanda. As seen in “The Whole World Is Watching,” this outfit is used when Ayo showed Bucky his rehabilitation results.

Marvel Studios

Villanueva commented that while the design is only

“very close”

to the design in the show, with the white not being nearly as prominent, he still had fun playing with the designs established by Marvel’s Visual Development department:

The second piece

shows what Bucky’s standard outfit would have looked like in the show with one key difference. Barnes is seen adorned with a white and gold prosthetic instead of the black and gold one seen in

Avengers: Infinity War

, which was inevitably kept into the show.

“This concept of Bucky’s Wakanda crafted rehab wrap is very close to the final design in the show. It was really fun to play off of the design language established by the talented artists in Marvel’s Visual Development Dept.”

Another comment was left by Villanueva, who admitted that this design

“mostly”

made it into the show, minus the color scheme for Bucky’s jacket and arm:

FUTURE OF WHITE WOLF

Bucky Barnes’ future in the MCU

is currently unknown, but

Anthony Mackie hopes to work with Sebastian Stan again

in

Captain America 4

. So it would actually be a great opportunity to see Alan Villanueva’s unused concept art out to good use.

“This is (mostly) the final design in the show. Had a blast working on this alternate Winter Soldier look. Collaborated with Costume Designer Michael Crow. Very grateful for being brought on board!”

Barnes appearing with a new white and gold arm, seen in this concept art, could also symbolically show the progress that Bucky has made while he fully embraces the title of White Wolf. While it’s doubtful that Barnes would be wearing the full-blown costume for White Wolf seen in the comics, him having this new arm would be a very cool nod to his Wakandan moniker.

Marvel Studios’ Assembled: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

is

currently streaming on Disney+

.