Falcon and the Winter Soldier Star Reveals How John Walker’s Captain America Is Different From Steve Rogers

Marvel Cinematic Universe newcomer Wyatt Russell says John Walker, the new Captain America introduced on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, is operating in a “very different” era than the one that birthed the Steve Rogers Cap (Chris Evans). “New World Order” sees the United States government debut Walker as their red-and-blue-suited “new hero” — handing him the star-spangled shield that Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) returned to the Smithsonian just days earlier. In “The Star-Spangled Man,” audiences learn new details about John Walker before he suits up alongside superhero partner Battlestar (Clé Bennett) to take on the Flag Smashers, a group of super-strong Blip believers pursued by reunited duo Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).

In a sit-down with Good Morning America, the latest stop in a big rollout promoting the new Captain America, a news anchor touts Walker’s record as the “first person in American history to receive three Medals of Honor, ran RS-One missions in counterterrorism and hostage rescue.” A government study of the West Point graduate’s body at MIT revealed Walker “tested off the charts in every measurable category. Speed, endurance, intelligence…”

Before a cheering crowd and a worldwide television audience, Walker humbly admits: “I don’t have the flashiest gadgets, I don’t have super strength. But what I do have is guts. Something Captain America always had, always needs to have, and I’m gonna need every ounce of it… because I got big shoes to fill.”

“What I thought was interesting about John is that Steve was a soldier from a different era. They’re both soldiers from different eras, and the era of John is very different than the era of Steve,” Russell told Entertainment Weekly about his controversial new character. “The type of military men who are going to Iraq and Afghanistan was different because the time was different, and the grey area now, you see everything. Everything’s filmed. There’s a much different way of fighting now. You go in guns blazing first and ask questions later.”

Whereas Steve Rogers was a good man sometimes at odds with his government — the old Captain America was “fighting for something more than just getting the job done,” Russell said — John Walker is a soldier first.

“John’s the type of guy who’s like, ‘Look, you want me to do the job? I will finish the job for you,’” Russell explained. “Sometimes that might require things in the grey areas where you are not comfortable but I am, and I need to be able to do my job.”

Like Sam, who will continue to wrestle with his identity in the remaining four episodes of the Marvel Studios series, John has questions of, “Who am I in this suit? What does it mean to me? What does it mean to the people watching?”

“[Sam] didn’t necessarily feel comfortable with being Captain America. He didn’t feel right. Everybody deals with those things differently. So, it’s a big difference between this guy [John] and Steve. He’s a little bit more of a [jump in] head first type guy,” Russell said, adding his head-first hero is “a wrench that gets thrown into” the story unfolding in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+. New episodes premiere on Fridays.

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