The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Star Plays Coy on MCU Return

Elijah Richardson is playing coy when it comes to his possible return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after starring in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The actor portrayed Eli Bradley, the grandson of Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), who viewers learned in Falcon and Winter Soldier had been experimented on and given the super-soldier serum that transformed Steve Rogers into Captain America. The older Bradley served as a super-soldier as well in the 1950s and even had an altercation with Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. In the comics, Eli Bradley follows in his grandfather's footsteps and takes on the superhero identity Patriot as a member of the Young Avengers. If fans are going to see Richardson suit up as Patriot in the MCU, he isn't giving the surprise away.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier actor joined his Hollywood Stargirl costars Grace VanderWaal and Tyrel Jackson for an interview with ComicBookMovie.com's Josh Wilding. After discussing the Disney+ original movie, Wilding asked Richardson if fans would get to see Patriot appear in Captain America 4 and if he's hoping it gets to happen. Richardson replied by simply shaking his head and saying, "No comment."

Of course, this isn't the first time Elijah Richardson has been asked about his MCU future. After The Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale last spring, Richardson shared his excitement and teased even more of his Eli Bradley. "The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Finale ‼️ Watch a young king at work✨ This may only be the beginning of Eli Bradley," Richardson wrote in an Instagram post.

The following month in an interview with The Direct, more hopeful comments were made by the young actor regarding Patriot. "I did my research after I found out I got the role. I tried to figure out who Elijah Bradley was, and what relationships he might have with other people maybe in the Marvel Universe. I just took that into consideration when approaching the character," Richardson shared. "Honestly that's kind of all it is, is hopes and dreams. I mean, yeah obviously, who doesn't want to be a part of the MCU? Right? But I mean, we'll see. It's more of a 'we'll see.'"

He later admitted that he originally thought he was going to have superpowers during the Disney+ series.

"I knew I was auditioning for Marvel, but I didn't know what character I was going to be auditioning for. So, I was given like, different sides. You know, they don't want to disclose the actual sides until you get the role. So when I got the sides, I did my self-tape, [which is] when you record yourself and then send it over to the production company," Richardson explained. "I knew it was for Marvel, so I was like, 'Maybe this character has like, a superpower or an ability or something.' So after that, I got a call back saying, 'Okay, we want you to do another audition.' I did another audition with different sides again. I approached the character the exact same way. I was like, 'You know what, this character has to have some ability or superpower. This is Marvel. There's no way he doesn't!'"

Would you like to see Patriot team up with other heroes in the MCU to form the Young Avengers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!