Fans Think This Leaked Falcon And Winter Soldier Set Photo Reveals John Walker's Fate
Contains spoilers for Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Viewers of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are acutely aware that things aren't going super well for John Walker (Wyatt Russell). Little by little, the man with the unenviable task of succeeding Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as Captain America is coming apart at the seams, as he struggles with a smorgasbord of PTSD, peer disrespect, and frustration at his own inability to do the job as well as people expect. With the death of his partner, Lemar "Battlestar" Hoskins (Clé Bennett), Walker finally reaches his tipping point at the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 4, and uses his new super soldier strength to beat Flag Smasher Nico (Noah Mills) to death in plain sight of Sam (Anthony Mackie), Bucky (Sebastian Stan), and a group of terrified onlookers.
It certainly looks like Walker might have a hard time carrying on his role as the paragon of America's virtue after effectively committing a murder in plain sight. The question is, what lies ahead for him? According to some fans, a leaked Falcon and the Winter Soldier set photo may reveal the character's ultimate fate — and according to them, it might not be awfully pretty.
Some fans think Cap's shield is forcibly taken from John Walker
A leaked set photo has caused some fans on Reddit to believe that someone might take the shield away from John Walker. The photo shows Walker with an injured left arm, wearing a regular military outfit instead of his Captain America garb. Since Walker's left hand is his primary shield hand, redditor u/duyalonso believes that the photo means that the shield has been removed from him ... for one reason or another.
"The left arm of John Walker is broken in this set photo," they wrote. "Notice that left arm (or hand) is the one to hold the shield. Now, after seeing the final moment of episode 4, personally I think we're gonna see something very brutal happens to John's left arm. And I think this is one of the reasons why the shield will be taken from John," they continued, pointing out that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier mid-season trailer shows a similarly-dressed Walker defiantly stating, "I am Captain America."
While this seems to allude to a possibility that Walker simply suffers an injury and temporarily hangs up the shield, others feel that the injured arm and missing shield may be rather more intimately connected. "I'm guessing Bucky crushes his arm while forcefully taking the shield back," redditor u/experiM3NTALcase wrote. Multiple others seemed to agree with that line of thinking.
Of course, it's worth noting that this is all simple, entertaining speculation, and there's no telling how the photo connects to Walker's ultimate fate on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – or even if it does. The only way to find out for sure is to tune in to the remaining episodes of the show as they drop on Disney+.