Wyatt Russell Discusses U.S. Agent's MCU Future; Getting in Shape For The Role, and Why He Almost Didn't Take It

Wyatt Russell made his big MCU debut as John Walker a.k.a. U.S. Agent in Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier last year. We have no idea when we will see the character again, and as of right now, Russell is just waiting for Marvel’s call.

With Captain America 4 in the middle of development, the actor was asked in an interview with Collider when he will be back, because he’s expected to appear in the next Captain America film. He responded, saying:

"No, you never know. They do a really good job of keeping it secret. It's part of the allure. You always hope that you can come back and you hope that you'll get the phone call. If I pick up the phone and it's Marvel on the other end of the line, you're like, 'All right, cool. Let's go to work.'"

Russell went on to talk about his physical fitness and how he’s lost all of the muscle he gained to play the character the first time around. So, when he does come back, he’s going to have to get back into shape. He said:

"As for the Marvel secret training camp, that was two and a half years ago, or almost three years ago no, that we like actually shot [The Falcon and the Winter Soldier]. All of the training and everything that I'd done, if I do get the phone call, it'll take a lot of runway to get back in shape like that. I've lost every ounce of muscle and physique that I had, but that's the fun part. Honestly, that was a big part of taking the role, as well."

The actor went on to talk about what he hopes to see from the character as his story arc continues, saying:

"I haven't really even thought about, if the character comes back, what I hope he becomes. There are so many different ways that you can go with it. I just hope that whatever it is, is continued along this line of this struggle with self. That is something that I can do, as well as I think it needs to be done. As long as he has that conflict within himself, he can have a change of mind and he can go through therapy. There are lots of different ways you can go. I only ever hope that it goes an interesting way, but a certain way, that's not up to me."

Russell actually almost turned down the role and explained that it was due to the pressure of playing Captain American:

"I feel like every actor says this, but at first, I was very hesitant. If you were a fan of Lodge 49, you weren't going, 'This guy's gonna play Captain America.' I had that same reaction. I was like, 'Are you sure you guys want me to play Captain America?' You don't know what you're auditioning for, so I was like, 'Okay, I'll go in and audition and see what it is if I get it.' And then, I got it and I was like, 'Okay, cool. Who am I playing?' I had a meeting with [The Falcon and the Winter Soldier director] Kari Skogland and Zoie Nagelhout at Marvel, and they showed me a picture of Captain America. At first, I was like, 'Oh, my God.' Captain America is a very difficult character to play because his moral compass is always pointing north.

"It's a difficult character to pull off. And when you have somebody who was so good at it, just do it, who's so beloved, you're going, 'I don't wanna play that guy. That's impossible shoes to fill. No. No way. I'm just not your guy.’ And then, they were like, 'No, no, no, it's this other character.' He turns into this anti-Captain America and bizarro world Captain America. As we started talking about it, I was like, 'Okay, I can have some ownership over this character because I can make it what I want, in certain ways.' They gave me the leeway to really do that and put a stamp on it. The working experience was so great because they really listened and they took into account the ideas that you had. Hopefully, I was presenting concise and clear ideas, so that I wasn't being confusing. I ran with the character and was really happy with the way it turned out. They gave the character some pathos and it was an interesting character in the MCU that hadn't been done before. It's always great to do somebody that hasn't been done before because you get to really put a stamp on it. I had an amazing time. They're amazing to work with."

Russell fit this role so well, he was so unlikeable as the character, and that was the whole point! It’s going to be fun and interesting to see how the character continues to grow and evolve in the MCU.

Since he teamed up with Julia Louis-Dreyfus's Val, what would you like to see from U.S. Agent as his story continues?