Though the discourse surrounding superhero films/TV shows over the past week seemed to revolve around Zack Snyder and his new cut of “Justice League,” we mustn’t forget that the Marvel Studios train is continuing to run on time and with high quality over at Disney+ with the first episode of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” And if you’ve seen that episode, you know that the ending of the show offered quite the cliffhanger. Now, the actor involved in that cliffhanger is speaking up about what we can expect from his character and the suit he’s wearing.
Spoilers for “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” Episode 1, obviously…
At the end of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s” debut episode, we are introduced to the new Captain America. However, it’s definitely not Sam Wilson, aka Falcon. Instead, it’s a new character, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), holding the shield. But we only see a glimpse of him and we know nothing about what type of character he is and why he’s not a great choice to replace Steve Rogers. Well, Russell recently spoke to USAToday and explained the key differences between his character and Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers.
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“I don’t think there’s really been many MCU characters who’ve had quite the dilemma he’s had in terms of trying to fit into this sort of moralistic superhero world,” Russell said of his new character. “He’s been thrust into this role as Captain America and he’s going to do it his way, and he wants to do it right. But his way is a very specific way that he has learned through being basically a trained human hunter. I mean, that’s what Marines are. They’re not Steve Rogers, they’re not the same. They’re not like Boy Scouts anymore. They’re a little bit more gnarly.”
He added, “There’s always an element of reality [in the show] where it’s like, well, sometimes you need that guy, and it’s not always pretty. It’s fun to play those characters because they’re always at odds with themselves. They’re always at odds with their own abilities and with their own moral compass. They know what is right, kind of, but they also want to win and they battle with that.”
Obviously, the development of Russell’s John Walker character is going to be elaborated more in future episodes. However, if you’re a fan of the comic books that introduced Walker, you can kinda see how Russell’s comments tease what could (and most likely will) happen. Needless to say, John Walker is no Steve Rogers.
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” debuts new episodes each Friday on Disney+.