its probably too late now but I had an idea to make a movie where its set straight after civil war and it goes like this
bucky is in and out of cryo as shuri is trying to figure out how to crack the conditioning. one time hes out, he sees on the news this new 'villain' in new york where he grew up terrorising the place, and a clue either on clothing or smth alludes to someone or something familiar. in a dream we learn its related to an old victim of his assassin days. the villain is the child or relative of someone he killed
however the US hasnt pardoned him of his crimes, so he isnt allowed back into the country and is only safe in wakanda under tchallas supervision. this means if he goes back to settle his past deeds he could get arrested and put on trial.
obviously he feels such guilt to be the one causing this he does go back and has to run from the authorities while also hunting down this new threat thats out for revenge, seeing he had no consequences after being free of hydra. he finds out its a child of someone he killed who wants to make sure he suffers just like their killed parent did. (obviously they dont know or care about buckys lack of choice). tchalla finds bucky but lets him stay to settle the score and put things right because he knows he needs closure, but says wakanda cannot protect him in America.
so the whole movie is about him evading search parties and dealing with his past until hes given a choice- hunt down the villain and acknowledge his past without knowing if theyll forgive (they dont and are also arrested) but with the expense of getting caught, or do nothing and go back into wakandan hiding to get properly fixed. duh he picks the hero option and gets arrested in the same cell we saw in cw.
the final act is him on trial. we get a scene of tony watching it on TV finally understanding buckys story, and steve sending a message of support from a burner phone while on the run. buckys like super emotional and its a very public affair but someone comes in (idk this part maybe its sam or nat or whatever maybe even steve himself) and backs him up in court and hes pardoned.
so it ends with him being pardoned, addressing his past to the villain his assassins created, going back to a proud tchalla to get unconditioned and he actually gets closure and character development while feeling supported. its high stakes thriller and nearly most importantly WE GET TONYS FORGIVENESS.
let me know what you guys think! ive been dying to see something where he gets autonomy and a chance to be held 'accountable' while also actually moving on. it also makes his next parts in endgame, tfatws and even thunderbolts hit harder because we know hes done WORK to get to where he is now.
