'The Falcon And The Winter Soldier' TV Spot Tries To Discern The Difference Between A Sorcerer And A Wizard

After more than a year with no Marvel Studios content due to the pandemic, the fire hose is now slowly opening up again. WandaVision has wrapped up its run on Disney+, and in just a few weeks, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will take the baton and attempt to generate the same level of discussion and engagement. Marvel and Disney+ have released a new TV spot for the action-heavy show, and it explicitly mentions Doctor Strange. Check it out below.

I would love nothing more than if 90% of the dialogue in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was just Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson arguing with Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes about nomenclature and classifications for various archetypes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That clearly won't happen, but they raise an interesting point here: what exactly is the distinction between a wizard and a sorcerer?

There are many answers to this question. In the world of Dungeons & Dragons, a wizard learns magic from books and education, while a sorcerer is born with innate magic ability. Under these parameters, Doctor Strange would be a wizard, while Scarlet Witch would be a sorceress. (Don't forget about warlocks, who gain magic through pacts with other beings. Ghost Rider is a Marvel-related example of a warlock.) In Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, "men born as the eighth son of an eighth son are commonly wizards," while sorcerers are "the eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son," making them "wizards squared." I'm not sure what Doctor Strange's family lineage is like, but I don't think Marvel would lock themselves into a definition that is quite that strict. Maybe we'll get an entirely different MCU-centric answer to this question when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives.

Here is the show's official synopsis:

In Marvel Studios' The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, who came together in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame, team up on a global adventure that tests their abilities—and their patience. The series is directed by Kari Skogland; Malcolm Spellman is head writer.

Malcolm Spellman serves as the head writer of this show, which is directed by Kari Skogland and co-stars Daniel Brühl, Emily VanCamp, Adepero Oduye, Wyatt Russell, and more. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set to premiere on Disney+ on March 19, 2021.