The buddy comedy energy is strong in these new The Falcon And The Winter Soldier clips

Just as WandaVision, for all its high-concept sitcom magic madness, ultimately lived or died at the hands of leads Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Kathryn Hahn, and Teyonah Parris, so, too, will its Disney+ successor, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, fly or flounder on the chemistry of series stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Luckily, that ineffable force appears to be in firm abundance in new clips released to promote the upcoming series this weekend, including a genuinely delightful moment in which Mackie—a reliable and underrated comic MVP of the MCU—lectures Bucky on “The Big Three” antagonists heroes in this universe typically end up having to punch: Androids, aliens, and wizards.

The two new clips were accompanied by a brief featurette in which the two actors spell out their heroes’ dynamic in explicit buddy comedy terms, establishing a universe where, like Charles Grodin and a large St. Bernard, you never know whether they’re ultimately going to kill each other or become the best of friends. Also, they talk about Gandalf in one of the clips, which feels like a nice reprise of their time-displaced buddy Steve’s old “I get that reference” schtick. (Also also, there’s a part where Mackie’s Sam makes fun of Bucky for having a robot brain, and, really, watching Anthony Mackie take the shit out of uber-serious Sebastian Stan is going to be the most fun part of the show, we can already tell.)

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier debuts on Disney+ on March 19.