'The Falcon And The Winter Soldier' Will Compete As A Drama Series At The Emmys, Leaving Room Open For A Season 2

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will compete in the Drama Series category at this year's Emmy Awards, moving it away from its expected place in Limited Series, where it would be matched up against WandaVision. It's a deliberate move from Marvel Studios, which says that they had planned to submit the Disney+ action series in Drama early on.IndieWire reports that Marvel Studios plans to submit The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as a Drama series at the 2021 Emmys, a move they had been planning early on, even with the series marketed as a limited miniseries. Marvel Studios VP of Productions and Development Nate Moore, who executive produces Falcon and the Winter Soldier, said the decision came naturally, and not out of a strategy to keep the Limited Series category open to WandaVision.

"[The decision] came about sort of as the series was launching, but it was something we were thinking about even as we were making it — not because we think, 'Oh my God, it's so great,' but because it does feel a bit more dramatic than some of our typical stuff," Moore said. "As this is sort of our first foray into television, even if it's Disney+, we thought [the category placement] was appropriate for what the show is trying to tackle."

So does this confirm that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is due for a second season? Not quite. While Moore said Marvel "always wants the possibility" there's no confirmation just yet. "Hopefully at the end of this season, you will see the potential for what we could tell in a subsequent season," Moore said.

Both The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision – the latter arguably making more of a pop culture impact than the former – were labeled as miniseries, though Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige did state in February that the studio was open to multiple seasons.

"I think 'WandaVision' is a show you can only do once. She can't go back into that reality," Moore said, speaking to what separates the two Marvel series. "That is such a complete arc of what that character can do and what that story wanted to do, whereas 'Falcon and Winter Soldier' is really about dealing with, to me, the legacy of what a superhero is, through the lens of Captain America and his shield, but ultimately through the lens of all these different characters. And that's a story I think you can revisit in subsequent seasons because it's an evergreen story. It's a conversation."

Meanwhile, WandaVision, which became a big water cooler series just a few months before Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered, will compete in the Limited or Anthology Series category, which is already incredibly stacked. Its potential competition includes The Queen's Gambit, The Undoing, Small Axe, I May Destroy You, Fargo, The Good Lord Bird, Your Honor, and even more limited series recently released to acclaim like Mare of Easttown, It's a Sin , and The Girlfriend Experience. Not to mention highly anticipated upcoming releases that will meet the eligibility window, like Barry Jenkins' The Underground Railroad. Meanwhile, the Drama Series category remains fairly empty — only three of last year's nominees are eligible in 2021, and few new programs are considered contenders due to pandemic schedule reshuffling. But still, Disney must be confident in WandaVision to throw it into such a crowded category as Limited Series in 2021.

The remaining question is whether Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan would run as Lead Actors, or divide into the Lead and Supporting Actor categories. Moore said that hasn't been decided yet.

"We haven't had those deep discussions just yet," he said. "I know Marvel has been around for a minute, but we're always still learning because we're always trying new things. So yeah, we don't really have a strategy so far."