Falcon & The Winter Soldier 

ESPN / Disney+

Treatment Written by: Bill Habeeb

What makes a super hero… Super? What act of fate causes an ordinary mortal to push the boundaries of normal life to become heroic and extraordinary? Those are the questions that drive the origin stories of so many Marvel heroes. We’re setting out to ask a question that has a slightly different twist.

What might happen if you were to hand Kenny Mayne the keys to a metaphorical car he doesn’t have the interest or inclination to drive? If chosen, will he rise to the occasion and perform heroic deeds in his efforts to ensure good overcomes evil? Or… will he go on doing things pretty much the same way he always does—without ever getting overly excited about anything that comes his way.

My money is on the later, and it’s in that juxtaposition of the magnificent to the mundane that we find the humor. Captain America’s shield may literally land in Kenny’s lap, and when it does… It sort of gets a well-deserved day off. Instead of being used to deflect bullets, Kenny is more likely to wield it for putting some nice spin on a ping pong ball. 

That’s where the fun and humor of this story can be found. We’re bringing two great fan-bases together, both of whom have a love for excitement. Sports enthusiasts devoted to ESPN—and members of the Marvel Universe. It’s a perfect pairing of personalities that will help dial up the excitement surrounding this film’s premier on Disney+. The script you’ve written already sings on the page. My goal is to instill it it with a sense of understated humor by capitalizing on the comic possibilities gained in seeing the choices Kenny Mayne makes when given a chance to be… Super.

Our Hero

Kenny Mayne is our greatest asset. He is the straw that stirs this comic drink, and because of that we want to make the most of his dry sense of humor and his absolutely unflappable attitude.

Based on what I know of him, and from the knowledge gained from our conversation, I would want to approach his performance in a way that allows him to simply do what he does best. We want him to be himself, and we want to ensure that we give him the space and the freedom to bring his unique personality and performance style to the narrative. 

The key is design moments that allow him to stay well within that range of relaxed casualness that has become a signature of his broadcasting style. We want to start with all the ideas you’ve written into the script. We’ll make sure we cover them well. And then once we have them filmed to our satisfaction, we’ll give him some room to have fun and improvise.

After that, this really comes down to making the best use of his time and doing all we can to ensure that he’s comfortable by establishing a friendly cooperative atmosphere on the set. That’s the approach that I believe will yield the best results, and I want to do everything within my power to maintain that feeling on our shoot day.

The Look 

The Marvel Universe is synonymous with a visual quality that is nothing less than epic. Leaning into the grandness of the trailer, we will maintain the strength and sophistication of that look by using anamorphic lenses to capture the action in the same style associated with The Avenger family of action films. 

Ironically, the grandness of the cinematic style contrasted to mundane nature of everything we see happening within those frames, will work really well to support the comedy. It’s like punctuating the end of tympani roll with the ping of a little triangle. It’s not what you’d expect, which will help in keeping our viewers wondering what the next inappropriate thing Kenny will do while being trusted with the power of this shield.

We’ll push this contrast by using natural light to bring the scenes a visually pleasing aesthetic that feels well-observed and grounded in reality. The camera will be handheld. Nothing drastic in terms of movement. Just a nuance of motion that adds a hint of subtle drift—in turn enhancing the observational quality of the film.

The Location

For production purposes and practicality, we’ll search for an existing home that offers us a good mix of different spaces that can be used for different vignettes. The house should have a nice and inviting quality—nothing too upscale. Just an attractive comfortable home that fits Kenny’s friendly and relatable personality.

Ideally, we’ll search for a location with lots of windows that can be used to fill the space with a warm sunlit quality. In addition to having a lot of interior options, it’s also important to have access to usable exterior space—a driveway, sidewalk, front and back yard, etc.

The Shield

A symbol of protection against evil, this amazing disc and invaluable weapon is one of the wonders of the universe. It’s mesmerizing, simple, strong, and like the country from which it takes its name, it has been created with democratic equality. Anyone who holds—be it soldier or television sports announcer—will possess its amazing power.

Our Characters

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (aka Steve Wilson and Bucky Barnes) are a pair of mismatched Avengers who have to find a way to somehow get along in order to fight the forces of evil. 

In many ways, they’re like brothers (albeit from different mothers). Whenever they aren’t fighting someone else, they’re fighting each other. But that sibling type rivalry is always good spirited. Neither would do the other (serious) harm, and woe to anyone who dares mess with the other. 

The Shield Has Chosen You… (Well… Maybe not you).

We open on Kenny relaxing at home and reading the morning newspaper. Nothing out of the ordinary about this day until—we hear the roar of an epic WHOOSH.

Kenny drops the newspaper and looks up just in time to catch Captain America’s shield, which lands in his hands as if it he was chosen to wield its power.

His reaction remains absolutely understated—true to the response we expect from Kenny Mayne.

He looks around, trying to figure out the source of the delivery?

KENNY: Who threw that? Steve? Sam? …Bucky?

We see him mulling this over in his mind. Considering the significance of this momentous bit of happenstance. Coming to a conclusion, he decides this was no accident. This was no mistake. The shield found him—because it was meant to find him.

KENNY: Alright, you must have chose me for a reason. Today is going to be a big day. 

As an alternative to the last part of that line, and perhaps as a nod to the film, he might come to a quiet but heroic resolve and say: “…I’ll do my best.”

(For the sake of having a choice, I’ll cover this moment with him delivering the line with gravitas, and then again with him saying it in a very mundane way.)

He rises from the table, holding the shield in one arm… He looks down at the table for a moment… decides to take one last bite of a toast and… 

Walks off to meet the challenges this day holds.

Cutting to a series of vignettes, we’ll follow Kenny through his day to observe him using the shield in a variety of not-so-heroic ways.

We see him at a Farmer’s Market or a grocery store. The shield has been filled with all sorts of different items. If he’s at a grocery store, he could lift an ESPN magazine from a rack near the register. He thinks about adding it to his purchases, but shakes his head, Nah… and puts it back.

Walking along a sidewalk, he uses the shield to protect himself from water being sprayed by lawn sprinklers. 

The shield gets wet—but he remains protected. Maybe we pause for a moment to capture a close up of his reaction—nodding slightly with a very subtle looked of being impressed.

Cutting inside his house, we see him use the shield as a pizza pan. He slides it out of the oven—reacting to the heat in a very un-superhero like way. Ooh, hot, hot, hot…

Back outside, we find him stretched out on a lounge chair in the backyard with zinc on his nose—using the shield as a reflector to get a tan.

KENNY: This hero stuff isn’t too bad.

ALT: This hero stuff is easy

Or, perhaps in another nod to Avenger films, he could repeat another line popular to Captain America.

ALT: I can do this all day…

Along with the ideas you’ve scripted, I’d also like to cover as many additional ideas as possible—just to give you a good mix of choices once you get to the edit.

Those could include:

Kenny puts the shield on top of his car—kind of like you would with a bag or a cup of coffee. He forgets it’s there and backs out of the drive. We the clang of it falling off the car followed by the horrible sound of metal scraping against cement. Kenny cringes a little…

Kenny flings the shield at the TV—fully expecting it to boomerang back like it does in the movies. But it just keeps going straight—smashing into the TV and destroying it and everything near it.

Or.. tosses it at the TV to change the channel. 

Maybe we can set up a sort of faux moment of heroism. We find Kenny in his front yard. He jerks his head toward something he notices off-screen. Cutting to his POV we see the elderly woman unloading some groceries from her car. 

KENNY: Stop!

He starts toward her—the shield held heroically in one arm. Maybe we over-crank this a bit to add to the drama. When he arrives at the woman’s side, and tries to help her with the groceries, he realizes that the shield is kind of in his way. So, he sets it down on the grass, and helps carry the bags in.

He uses the shield as a popcorn bowl or as a plate to hold a massive amount of nachos.

While cooking some sizzling bacon he uses the shield to protect himself from popping splatters of grease.

Kenny lines up the shield at the top of the stairs, considering using it as a sled—but thinks better of it. (Another nod, this references the moment in End Game when Tony Stark mentions he daughter will just use the shield as a sled). 

He puts a duct tape K over the shield and poses with it looking into a mirror. “Captain Kenny…” Or, holds the shield and stands proud—like Captain American, but gets a kink in his back and doubles over in pain. 

He imitates the kneeling defense pose of Captain America, but realizes he can’t get up. “A little help… Anyone…?”

Sensing something dangerous coming his way, he lifts the shield quickly and he loses his grip. It falls to the floor and spins for an uncomfortable period of time as Kenny watches it with a blank stare. 

Outside in the garden, he wears it like a giant sun hat. Or… places it on a pedestal in the backyard for a bird bath. 

He tosses the shield up to a high shelf to knock down a bag of Doritos—maybe to a bad result.

He entertains himself by flipping playing cards across the room, attempting to land them in the upturned shield like it were a hat.

Kenny uses the shield as a Lazy Susan—rotating it to dip a chip. Or… as an elaborately organized charcuterie board full of the finest meats and cheeses, eats cereal out of it, or fills it with ice and drinks. 

A neighbor or friend starts to talk to him about something boring, and Kenny lifts the shield, placing a barrier between him and the boring conversation. “Talk to the shield…”

He relaxes in the living room using the shield as a foot bath while playing a video game or reading the sports page.

Kenny uses the shield as a ridiculously giant coaster for his friend’s glass of water.

He uses it to crack walnuts.

He stares at the inside of it and reads the ingredient label. “Vibranium Steel Alloy plus ‘Unknown Substance’… Hmm. It’s probably safe.”

Following the Super and Title Card, we return for one last moment of non-heroism.

Kenny answers the door to find two SWORD agents on his porch. They gesture for Kenny to hand over the shield. 

As he hands it over, one of the agents passes him a cellphone with a FaceTime call. 

SAM WILSON (The Falcon): Seriously man! That was so not on your left!

If time allows, we can shoot a few additional alt endings.

Kenny looks at the shield and says, “I think this thing is broken.” Or, “And a superhero is not born.” Or, “Some heroes don’t need capes. Just a shield. And maybe a cape.”

Or…

Kenny mulls over the day, and looking at the shield decides, “I think I need a metal arm.” 

Or…

He gets a FaceTime from Bucky.

BUCKY: Hey… Did you get a metal arm in the mail? 

Kenny hears a doorbell. Kenny’s eyes widen—and we cut to black.

Or…

Kenny answers a FaceTime call. It’s Sam Wilson (The Falcon).

SAM: I’m gonna give you 5 seconds to return that shield.

Or…

Maybe we could end with Kenny passing the shield to the old woman he helped with the groceries.

KENNY: (offering her the shield) Want’a give it a try?

In Closing…

The spot is loaded with great comic potential. The most important thing is to capture it in a way that creates an ironic comic contrast between the epic quality of the look—and the uneventfulness of the action. 

The script offers us a fantastic place to start. My hope is to continue to collaborate on ideas, so that we can go into this with a list of vignettes that will offer us plenty of great scenes to fill out a :30—and many more that if you choose, could be used for social media.

Thank you for sending this my way, and I look forward to speaking with you further