The Falcon and the Winter Soldier director Kari Skogland says it was vitally important for the show to investigate what it means for the character of Sam Wilson AKA Falcon to wield the iconic star-spangled shield previously utilized by Captain America.

We wanted Sam to engage in both a public and private conversation of what it means for a Black man to pick up such an iconic historically white symbol, Skogland told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published on Friday.

By starting off with his acknowledgment of how important it is as a symbol, and that it is connected to a bygone era, Sam opens the door to the idea that what defines a hero today is not the same ideal as it was when Steve first picked up the shield.

Wilson played by actor Anthony Mackie was handed the shield by an aged Captain America in the finale of Avengers: Endgame, and has grappled with his feelings over wielding the iconic weapon over the course of the six episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the last of which is set to debut next Friday.