Derek Kolstad Says The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Is Marvel’s “Most John Wick” Thing Yet

Marvel Studios fare is typically known for its wall-to-wall blockbuster action, rivaling that (or dwarfing) any summer tentpole released in theaters. That took a step back with WandaVision, the Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany-starring vehicle that chose to put the action on the backburner for an intense character study featuring two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most peculiar heroes. Now that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier hits Disney+ in a matter of days, that action will soon return, even though it might be on a smaller scale, akin to something you might see in Lionsgate’s John Wick franchise.

We recently caught up with John Wick architect Derek Kolstad. Kolstad, who’s currently doing press for Universal’s Nobody, also managed to land a seat in the writer’s room for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. According to the writer, the upcoming Disney+ series is the closest thing to a Wick movie the MCU has ever released.

“Oh, dude for me, yeah, because they uncap in regards to the action,” Kolstad tells ComicBook.com “They would encourage us to go big. And then, we would go big and they’d come back with, ‘That’s awesome, you can go a little bit bigger?’ And yet, it was still rather grounded.”

He adds, “One of the things that Marvel does so well is what the best TV does so well. It begins and ends with character. Do you care about them? Do you wish to emulate them? Do you struggle alongside them? Do you really, honestly, want to stay with them on their hero’s journey? And upon it, reaching their end, do you feel satisfied? Do you feel a sense of loss?”

The Hero’s Journey, of course, is on full display in the Wick franchise as the titular retired assassin returns to the game to finish off those who wronged him.

“That was a blast because Malcolm [Spellman] running the room and Kari [Skogland], the director of the series, being in the room, it really was iron sharpens iron, and the best idea wins,” the writer continues. “The action, I can’t even say what they allowed us to do, but what they encouraged us to do was as John Wick as anything I’d ever done before, man. And when you get to play in that IP, in that universe, the 11-year-old me is just giggling all day long. You know?”

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier debuts on Disney+ beginning Friday, March 19th.

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