Mackie's a charismatic actor who always makes a big impression as s supporting player and has been on the verge of really cracking through to stardom for some time now.  He made his feature debut a decade ago in 8 Mile, but most people probably know him as the level-headed lynchpin in Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker.  Last year, he appeared in Real Steel and The Adjustment Bureau, while later this year he plays a supporting role in the crime ensemble Gangster Squad.

And now he's in talks to become a part of Marvel's shared cinematic universe as The Falcon, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  One of the earliest black superheroes, The Falcon's alter-ego is Sam Wilson is a hero from Harlem with a telepathic link to birds that makes him indispensable in covert intelligence-gathering.  Not only that, but he also has a pet falcon and nifty suit that allows him to fly while augmenting his strength.  During the 1970s, Falcon was a sidekick to Cap, and he returned to prominence under the stewardship of the outstanding Ed Brubaker.

The new title reveal suggests that this sequel is going to be very influence by Brubaker's work, since the Winter Solider is a character of the writer's creation.  Well, partially.  Winter Solider is, in fact, Cap's longtime sidekick Bucky Barnes.   Brubaker brought Bucky back from comics-death, with the Soviet Union defrosting him, brainwashing him, and giving some super-abilities to be act as a communist hatchetman and assassin.

Assuming Mackie's talks pan out, he'll join Chris Evans in his third outing as Steve Rogers, following Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers.  Because Winter Soldier is obviously involved, Sebastian Stan is also expected to reprise his role from Joe Johnston's WWII-set adventure.

Also returning are First Avenger screenwriting duo Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who have been working on the next installment since right around the time that film hit theaters.  With Johnston out of the Marvel game for whatever reason, sibling directorial duo Joe and Anthony Russo are taking over on the first big-time comic book movie.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is scheduled to arrive at a theater near you on April 4, 2014.