When Wyatt Russell failed to land the role of Captain America many years ago, he had no idea at the time that he’d still one day appear in the MCU suited up as the iconic superhero. On the new Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Russell appeared as a character referred to as “the new Captain America.” He’s not Steve Rogers, but he’s the man selected by the U.S. government to become the next Captain America following Rogers’ retirement.
Playing Captain America in the MCU is a full-circle moment for Wyatt Russell, as regaled by the actor on Good Morning America. At the start of his acting career, Russell’s very first audition was for the titular superhero in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a part that wound up going to Chris Evans. As explained by Wyatt, getting to play John Walker as the red-and-blue superhero in the MCU is surreal, even if it’s a different version of the character. He also reveals that he had no clue he was playing Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier until after he got the part.
“It’s a fun story and I think that honestly, the first audition was really more just something to read, to see if I was any good at acting or not. I don’t think I was ever actually in competition for the role. But it was crazy, and this time, I had no idea even what it was. It was just like, ‘Marvel wants you to read for something. Go for it.’ And then I found out after I got the part what it was. I didn’t even know what it was going in.”
Set six months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, each reprising their roles from the MCU. The series also stars Daniel Br&ühl as Helmut Zero, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter/Agent 13, Don Cheadle as James Rhodes, Erin Kellyman as Karli Morgenthau, and Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres. The series was created by Malcolm Spellman with Spellman serving as head writer. Kari Skogland directs.
In another recent interview with USA Today, Russell addressed the fan reaction to his introduction as the new Captain America, noting that “people are going to hate it, and some people are going to love it.” In the interview, Russell also talked about how it felt to finally put on the Captain America suit ten years after reading for the character in his first audition.
“Hot. Very difficult. Painful… My shoulders kinda got screwed up and things started to hurt just because of the position that the suit would put you in all day,” Russell said.
The first two episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are currently streaming on Disney+. With six episodes left to go, the remaining episodes will be released every Friday, followed by an installment of Assembled chronicling the making of the Marvel series. This news comes to us from Good Morning America.