Have you ever heard the acronym WWSRD, which stands for What Would Steve Rogers Do? OK, we haven’t, either, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be a thing. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) was the beacon of righteousness in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the moral compass that always pointed north, even when doing the right thing was harder than expected. Steve passed his mantle to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier spent a season exploring the repercussions of Sam’s decision to drop the shield and let John Walker (Wyatt Russell) Pick it up.
What would Steve Rogers think about that?
CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast had the opportunity to interview Kari Skogland, director of the first season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. And when speaking with her about John Walker’s horrific loss of control at the end of episode four, which led to the murder of a member of the Flag Smashers, we brought up the topic of what Steve might have thought seeing the new Cap murdering people in the streets with the shield he once proudly carried.
Surprisingly, given the fact that Steve Rogers wasn’t a character on the show, Kari Skogland had thoughts. But in a way, this makes sense. Because even though Rogers wasn’t featured in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, his legacy in the MCU cast a massive shadow over all of the decisions being made during this story, so getting his reaction to Walker’s brutal betrayal could have been something that the creative team talked about, even if just to see how the actions affected Bucky (Sebastian Stan) and Sam (Anthony Mackie).
Kari Skogland told ReelBlend:
The shield means something different to everyone. To audience members, the shield means something. For each of our characters, the shield meant something. That was very much a conversation we were having. The shield meant something to Karli, the shield meant something to Sam, obviously, to Bucky. To Isaiah, who said, ‘No self-respecting black man is going to pick that up.’ Everybody has a perspective to what that shield means to them. In the case of Cap, I would say had he known the whole story, he’d have been as gobsmacked as Sam and Bucky, and probably had the same reaction. ‘You can not carry that shield. It can not become a weapon of destruction. It has to not be a weapon. It has to be an instrument to save people, to help people.’
You know what, though? Like so many of you, I would have loved to see a Chris Evans versus Wyatt Russell fight. But Steve Rogers is an old man now, and possibly living out his last days on the moon. (What a weird theory that one is.) Also, we have a new Captain America in our midst, and he looks like this!
We’ll continue to feature stories from our lengthy conversation with Kari Skogland as we break down the finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the waves that will ripple through the MCU following its conclusion. Also, keep an eye on our guide to Upcoming Marvel TV shows to see what’s coming to Disney+ next.
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