As you might expect, both Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky aren’t too thrilled about Cap’s successor. Fans also seemed to have a same reaction to the new hero(?) , and Russell couldn’t be happier with the tepid reaction his character has received.
When Wyatt Russell‘s John Walker made his big debut as the new Captain America at the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s premiere, fans were not loving him, and that hatred only grew deeper as audiences got to spend more time with the new Cap in Episode 2, You’d think that kind of negative reaction would not sit easy with an actor, but Russell is here for it.
Sam received Steve Rogers’ shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but ultimately decided against taking his close friend’s place. Regardless, the decision to make Walker the new Captain America was made without the Falcon’s input, which is something Russell took into consideration in his portrayal of Walker.
You honestly have to appreciate Wyatt Russell’s recent comments to USA Today, as he’s certainly taking the disdain for his character in stride. He also makes a good point in that the goal of TV and film is to draw emotional responses from viewers and, in this case, that speaks to the emotional investment fans have in the MCU.
But, there have been certain fans who have been able to separate fiction from reality and have subsequently come in support of the actor. The death threats were posted by the MCU fans on what was believed to be Wyatt Russel’s official Instagram account, but the administrator of the same came out clean by saying that it was merely a fan page.
From the goofy grin, to the cocky attitude to the threat to Sam and Bucky about staying out of his way, we’ve been given plenty of reasons to hate John Walker. It’s good writing, it’s what we’d expect from Marvel Studios, to make us feel angry at the guy who got the title our hero Sam deserves; however, for the time being Walker hasn’t done anything to deserve it. That’s not to say he won’t because it seems like there’s definitely another shoe waiting to drop. Until then, though, let’s work on a growth mindset; let’s not hate John Walker…yet.