In a recent interview, Wyatt Russell said the Wikipedia claim that Marvel purposefully picked someone white to play John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is false. However, the Wikipedia article in question does cite valid evidence stating otherwise.
The claim on the Wikipedia page is that Marvel specifically hired a white actor as John Walker in order to get across that the government in the show did not want a Black man as Captain America:
"Executive producer Kevin Feige added that a white man, Russell, was specifically cast as the new Captain America as commentary on how the U.S. government would not want a Black man like Wilson to take on that role."
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Russell said he does not "think" this is true, calling the claim "Wikipedia bullshit." He mentioned that John Walker "was a white guy in the comics," though that does not necessarily mean a white actor would absolutely play him. MJ, for instance, is white in the comics but Black in the MCU. Meanwhile, Doctor Doom is Romani in the comics but will be white in at least the next Avengers movies:
"That’s, like, Wikipedia bullshit. He’s a white guy in the comics, and he’s an overzealous war hero turned superhero by the government in the void left by Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans). And Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) didn’t want the shield and so they needed somebody to take it."
That is not to imply that the show's execution did not tell a story about race—it explicitly did. Instead, he does not think this played a role in his casting.
From his perspective, the government's choice did not necessarily need to be racially motivated for the show to work. He finds John Walker to be an "interesting" character due to his "insecurities" (which were addressed in closer detail in Thunderbolts*) as well as someone who "needs to learn things about himself to become fully realized:"
"They hired this guy who is a decorated war veteran, and all of his insecurities when he takes the superhero serum come to the surface. That was what I found interesting about the character — you can play an insecure superhero who’s still good at his job, but needs to learn things about himself to become fully realized."
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was the MCU's second Disney+ venture and stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan alongside Russell. The series is streaming on Disney+.
The Claim of Purposefully Making John Walker White Might Still Be True
Though Wyatt Russell seemed to say he does not believe casting a white person as John Walker was purposeful, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige seemed to say otherwise. This comes from a video discussion hosted by Andscape with the team behind The Falcon and the Winter Soldier when it was first released—and this discussion is cited as the claim's source on Wikipedia.
Feige said what the show was getting across is that Sam is encouraged to give away the shield by the very government that goes and gives it to "a blond, blue-eyed white man." He adds that it may not have been a "conscious" decision, but whether it was, "it's making a statement:"
"That’s what we’re saying, that’s what… You know, Sam Wilson says 'I’m putting the shield away,' and a white senator says, ‘Good decision, son. That’s a good decision you made there.’ And next thing he knows, on TV, here’s a blond, blue-eyed white man getting it. And whether that was conscious or not on the part of the people that made that decision within the government of the story, it certainly is making a- It’s making a statement."
Though Feige did not specifically say that they purposefully cast a white man as John Walker, he did say that the series wanted to convey the message of the government choosing a "blond, blue-eyed white man" as Captain America, which would require that purposeful casting.
This is to say that the claim and its seeming debunk may not be as clear-cut as Russell presented them, which, it should also be noted, is many years after the show was released.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
