If there’s one thing that WandaVision taught me, it’s that I shouldn’t expect any massive revelations from an MCU TV series. The Disney+ shows will contain all sorts of clever Easter eggs that will hook right into the MCU, making them all the more enjoyable for Marvel fans who have seen the 23 films that preceded them. They also plant very early seeds for things to come in the MCU. But the TV shows will not deliver any big developments to advance the overall MCU narrative, the storyline that extends beyond the scope of a single series or movie. They also won’t feature any huge superhero or villain introductions, although, again, they will plant some seeds that will require further watering in future installments.
But what if The Falcon and the Winter Soldier does deliver that one Captain America surprise that everyone has been talking about? Wyatt Russell, the actor who did such a brilliant job playing John Walker’s version of Captain America to the point where he received threats in real life, coyly teased that such a moment might be in the cards. Careful though, because some spoilers follow below.
Walker’s Captain America is just one of the Caps that we’ll see in the show. The newest teaser practically told us that there’s no more room for niceties and pretense after what Walker did. He’s not the man for the uniform and the shield, and Sam (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) will face off with him in combat. The three of them are about to fight in what will hopefully be a memorable battle for the MCU, and Sam will get the shield back.
That’s not much of a spoiler, considering what we saw in the initial trailers. We have yet to see the scenes with Sam and Bucky training with the shield, which means those events can only happen after they get the shield back from Walker. So, by the end of the show, Sam will likely become the new Captain America, or he will also least be on the verge of becoming Steve’s successor.
There’s also a third Captain America who keeps appearing in the show in all the wrong ways. That’s Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers. By wrong ways, I mean that Marvel is going out of its way not to refer to Steve in the present tense.
It’s now six months after Endgame and Steve isn’t dead. The first episodes of the show established that. He’s retired, but we have no idea if he’s on this planet or off-world. Sam and Bucky mention Steve and his legacy quite a few times, but, as I’ve already explained, they do not talk about him as if he were alive. They don’t think for a second to contact him or wonder what he would do. I called it the show’s main plot hole so far; two superheroes who aren’t really discussing the whereabouts of their friend or wondering if old man Steve is okay.
This brings us to a brand new BBC Radio 1 interview with Wyatt Russell (via The Direct), where the actor was asked whether he ever met Chris Evans in real life. BBC Radio 1’s film critic Ali Plumb explained his question, saying that a Wyatt-Evans side-by-side photo would “break the internet” right now. That’s when Russell dropped what could easily be the biggest Falcon teaser so far — emphasis ours:
Have I ever met Chris Evans? I think I have. I don’t think I’ve ‘shook his hand’ met him, but I think I’ve walked by him somewhere and made eye contact. That counts as being a stalker, that doesn’t count as meeting anybody. But, I guess it would. You just gotta wait until the end of the series and then everybody will be like, ‘Oh, wow.’
The last time we got excited about a Marvel star teasing an exciting moment in a Marvel TV show, we found out that Paul Bettany was just trolling fans. The Vision actor was talking about acting alongside himself in the final WandaVision episodes.
Whether or not Steve Rogers appears in either of the final two episodes of Falcon, we do know that episode 5 will be highly emotional and will feature a superhero cameo surprise that we might not see coming. We’re looking at a well-known actor or actress playing a well-known Marvel superhero who hasn’t appeared in previous MCU films — and who might not appear in movies anytime soon. So at least we’ve got that going on. Not to mention that Falcon doesn’t need Steve Rogers in it to be a great series. It’s already a fantastic TV show, one that Marvel fans should see even though it isn’t necessary to follow the main movies.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier returns to Disney+ on Friday. The full BBC interview follows below, featuring segments with Erin Kellyman as well, the actress who plays Karli Morgenthau in the series.
