The Falcon and the Winter Soldier star, Wyatt Russell, says Sam and Bucky’s disapproval of John Walker as the new Captain America is crushing to his character. Introduced at the end of the show’s premiere, the character was more prominently featured in episode 2 titled, “The Star Spangled Man.” While the government and the public appear to be all on board for this new iteration of the hero, Steve Rogers’ closest friends are clearly not fans.
The introduction of Walker as the new wielder of the iconic shield brought Sam and Bucky together after going their separate ways on the heels of Avengers: Endgame. Bucky intentionally sought Sam to confront him about passing on the opportunity to be the next Captain America, especially since Steve personally chose him. However, with the threat of the Flag-Smashers looming, the pair set aside their other conflict to go after Karli Morgenthau and her team. This was when Walker and his partner, Battlestar dropped in for their first meet-up.
In fairness to the new Captain America, he did reach out and propose for them to walk together, despite doing it in a bit of a repulsive way. But in the end, Sam and Bucky weren’t convinced; they know for a fact that Steve would be against how Walker and the government are using the mantle as a propaganda tool in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This was disappointing for the new Star-Spangled Avenger, as Wyatt tells Screen Rant in a new interview:
John Walker seems like he wants to team up or work together with Sam and Bucky. How does their disapproval affect him?
Wyatt Russell: I think it affects him. He appreciated what they were doing when they were doing it as Avengers, and he paid attention. He wanted to do good like them, so when your heroes don’t give you the response that you’d like, it’s like, “Don’t meet your heroes.” It can kind of crush you.
But he might go to a different place than some people will have gone, having suffered some of the injuries that he’s suffered in previous war.
There was already skepticism about Walker’s Captain America the moment he was introduced, for a couple of reasons. First, the character, who also goes by U.S. Agent in the comics is technically a villain, and chances are that Marvel Studios is mining inspiration from his print story for his arc in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Secondly, the shield and mantle weren’t supposed to be his, because Sam is the rightful owner of those as Steve’s chosen successor. Interestingly, however, the show’s second episode noticeably tried to humanize him, which would make Sam and Bucky’s refusal to help him through this journey look bad and might even lead Walker down the villainous path.
In the end, Walker and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier heroes went their separate ways as they track down the Flag-Smashers on their own. But their paths will inevitably cross again as they’re now essentially competing to accomplish the same mission. If anything, Walker might even be more motivated to beat his supposed idols after he was humiliated by their rejection.
Originally from https://screenrant.com/falcon-winter-soldier-wyatt-russell-john-walker-reaction/