Will We See John Walker's US Agent In Captain America 4?

Contains spoilers for "Black Widow" and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"

With the recent announcement that "Captain America 4" is happening with Anthony Mackie in the leading role, it's time to look back at the limited series that helped Sam Wilson (Mackie) realize his Captain America potential: "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier." Specifically, it's time to focus on John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the man who started the series as the new Captain America but finished as a disgraced pariah on his way to becoming U.S. Agent. Given how important his transformation was not only to his character arc but to Wilson's, it'll be interesting to see if he makes an appearance in "Captain America 4."

In "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," Walker is a decorated war hero who seems like the ideal candidate to capture the minds and hearts of the American people as the new Captain America. However, throughout the show, viewers are shown the darker side of the character. After he takes a serum that gives him super soldier capabilities similar to Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Walker becomes unhinged and murders a member of the Flag Smashers, the antagonists of the series. This eventually leads to him being stripped of the Captain America moniker and an other than honorable discharge from the military. He's then approached by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who offers him the U.S. Agent title.

While Walker does help Wilson and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) stop the Flag Smashers in the culmination of the series, his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is uncertain. So could he show up in "Captain America 4"? The answer isn't so clear.

The fact of the matter is that John Walker's U.S. Agent could appear at any time in future MCU properties. In fact, there's a lot of speculation out there (per Screen Rant) related to the best ways in which Marvel can effectively use the character moving forward. What's unclear at this time, however, is if he'll appear in "Captain America 4" and, if he does, what type of role he would play. It's easy enough to imagine him as the primary antagonist for the movie, especially given Walker and Wilson's dramatically different world views when it comes to protecting America. Would that make sense, however?

As he's now working for Val and her shady organization, perhaps an all-out public war with the new Captain America wouldn't be the best idea. Given Val's appearance at the end of "Black Widow" and her pushing Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) to go after Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), maybe Walker's next appearance could logically be in the upcoming "Hawkeye" series. Still, there's still a lot of drama that could be mined from the conflict between Walker and Wilson, especially given that the two have crossed paths more than once in the comics.

As of this writing, Anthony Mackie is the only confirmed cast member for "Captain America 4" and it's too early to know for certain who else will appear. Wyatt Russell as John Walker would make sense, but there are so many other places that the character could pop up in the MCU. "Captain America 4" would be a natural place to continue Walker's journey, either into full-on villain mode or anti-hero status, but it could also be the predictable step for Marvel. While predictable is not always bad, there's every chance that the studio wants to do something unexpected.

Either way, there's simply not enough information to say for certain if Walker will appear in "Captain America 4." However it goes, "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" will surely not be fans' last glimpse of this complex character. We'll simply have to keep tabs on casting information releases for "Captain America 4" over the coming months.