Key Points
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Wyatt Russell admits he didn’t want to say “On your left” during ADR recording.
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The line — a Captain America Easter egg — was the idea of director Jake Schreier.
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Russell reveals whether he thinks Walker’s family relationship will improve in their next film.
This article contains spoilers about Thunderbolts*… or do we call it *The New Avengers now?
John Walker a.k.a. U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) just can’t stop mirroring the first Captain America (Chris Evans) … even when the actor doesn’t realize that’s what’s happening in Thunderbolts*.
In the newest Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Walker has a quick moment in the opening vault action scene that is a clear Captain America Easter egg when he says, “On your left!” before smashing open the wall with his shield. Steve Rogers first said “on your left” in Captain America: The Winter Soldier while lapping Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) many times on an early morning run, and it was later referenced when Sam and the rest of the blipped Avengers returned during the climactic battle in Avengers: Endgame.
While the Captain America Easter egg in Thunderbolts* is hilarious considering Walker’s failed run as a government-sponsored, hated version of the hero (before he straight up publicly murdered a guy in TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), the actor actually didn’t even realize he said it in this movie until Entertainment Weekly pointed it out to him.
Courtesy of Marvel Studios
Wyatt Russell and Sebastian Stan in ‘Thunderbolts*’
“Wait, what do I say?” Russell asks EW. “‘On your left?’ … When do I say, ‘On your left?'”
His costar Sebastian Stan, who plays Steve’s BFF Bucky Barnes a.k.a. the Winter Soldier, helpfully reminds Russell about when he says the recognizable line. “It’s probably when you guys are in the vault,” Stan tells him (which is correct, 10 points to Bucky).
“Oh, oh, oh, when I smashed the … thingie,” Russell eventually remembers. While the actor claims that it’s not a Captain America Easter egg, he reveals that director Jake Schreier is the one who added it to the movie much later, after they filmed the vault scene.
“That was a line I didn’t want to say,” Russell admits. “Jake felt like we needed something to say in ADR. That was an ADR-ed line. That is not connected at all. It was just something to fill a void.” (What are the chances he intended to make that reference?)
But Stan and Russell praise any sharp-eyed fan who noticed the Captain America callback in that scene. “I love that you were thinking that,” Stan says, and Russell agrees.
“Yes, thank you,” Russell adds. “That means you are a person who really pays attention, more than me.”
Marvel’s newest team-up movie centers on a dysfunctional group of antiheroes and villains including Walker, Bucky, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Bob/Sentry/Void (Lewis Pullman). Throughout the film, Walker’s dark reality is ultimately revealed to his new teammates: His wife Olivia (Gabrielle Byndloss) left him and took their child with her, due to his lack of dedication to being a father and husband.
“I don’t think John is fit to have a wife and be a father,” Russell says. “I don’t think that’s part of what he is. And I think that what hasn’t been explored that — maybe in the future, if you don’t kill me in this next movie — would be nice to explore, would be some of the things that John had to do in his past or the things that he hasn’t reconciled with. That means, usually, that receiving a Medal of Honor means it’s the worst day of your life. And that is something that I don’t think he’s ever reconciled with.”
Marvel Studios
Wyatt Russell in ‘Thunderbolts*’
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Russell points out that just because he became a father doesn’t mean he’s automatically going to be a good one, which is why his story in Thunderbolts* rings true.
“He’s always put on this brave face as someone who’s always been an American hero,” Russell adds. “Look, once you have a child, I think you’re always fit to be a parent in some way, shape, or form. But I think that John needs to go through a long journey by himself before you become a realized father and a good partner.”
You can judge Walker for yourself (and hear the Captain America Easter egg) by seeing Thunderbolts*, now playing in theaters.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
