Wyatt Russell debuted in the MCU as John Walker/ US Agent in 2021’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. The character became the US government’s answer for Steve Rogers’ replacement as Captain America. John Walker was a great addition to the MCU as his complex and divisive position within the show created a lot of interesting chatter among audiences.
Russell gave a believable performance as a committed soldier who has been thrust into the limelight and has been bestowed with an incredible honor. While some fans see him as an antagonistic figure in the show, Walker’s divisiveness is actually its true strength as it signifies what it really means to be Captain America.
Wyatt Russell’s John Walker Elevates the Legacy of Steve Rogers’ Captain America
After Avengers: Endgame, fans were in constant debate about who will replace Chris Evens‘ Steve Rogers as Captain America. While the obvious contenders were Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, the MCU pulled a surprise on audiences by making Wyatt Russell’s John Walker the new Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
John Walker is portrayed as this perfect soldier who has made great achievements and honors. The US government deems him to be the best candidate for Captain America. However, as the series progressed, the character’s flaws and vulnerabilities began to show and he was ultimately stripped of his title following a violent murder.
The character was divisive among fans, however, the divisiveness was the true motive behind the character. As X user MaceAhWindu accurately points out, “John Walker was not written as a villain and he was not portrayed as a villain”. He is meant to show what it takes to be Captain America and his various flaws are indicative of what one holding the mantle should not possess.
John Walker was not written as a villain and he was not portrayed as a villain.
His role in the show was to show how hard it is to live up to the idea of Steve Rogers and Captain America. Even in the face of tragedy, Steve kept his composure, and always tried to do things right pic.twitter.com/Ij8AhX6NwC
— MaceAhWindu 🇵🇸 (@MaceAhWindu) April 19, 2024
Steve Rogers was an unlikely man who was ingrained with goodness, bravery, and optimism and eventually fitted the Captain America mantle. On the other hand, John Walker was embellished by the media and the government and was declared Captain America, who was going to go by their idealistic rules. The character is probably the strongest new entry post-Endgame and fans are looking forward to his arc in Thunderbolts*.
Wyatt Russell Believes Thunderbolts* Will Shift The Negativity Around the MCU
After his fantastic debut in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Wyatt Russell is set to return as John Walker in next year’s Thunderbolts*. The MCU has been going through a dull phase with many projects failing to attract audiences.
With Thunderbolts*, Russell promises that the film will not be a typical straightforward Marvel film. Russell states that the film will present something unique and different from recent Marvel pictures. The actor believes that it is time to make a great Marvel film and not take things for granted. He said (via YouTube),
“The story that I think they’ve come up with is really interesting – I know parts of the story and how the story works, I can’t talk about it. But it’s not a straightforward Marvel movie as you’ve seen in the past. I think that it’s gonna be a lot of fun but I think it will be something that hopefully Marvel fans will look at and go, ‘Oh OK, this is a little different, let’s go hard at it.’ And as far as how we are approaching it, it’s time to go to work a little bit, it’s time to make a good Marvel movie so let’s do that and work hard at it and don’t take things for granted.”
The film is currently in production and Russell’s comments have intrigued a lot of fans who are clamoring the studio to make something great again. In addition to Russell, the film will also star Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Olga Kurylenko, Harrison Ford, and Lewis Pullman.
Thunderbolts* will hit theatres on May 5, 2025.
Fans can watch Russell as John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+.
