A father and son acting duo has joined the MCU, but it’s a shame that they’ll likely never get to share the screen. When it comes to famous families in Hollywood, there are plenty of actors who have starred alongside their loved ones. It’s always a treat to see siblings or a parent and their child share the screen, and while the MCU hasn’t had a major family acting duo headline a project just yet, they’ve included many chances for an actor’s loved ones to make a quick appearance.

With the amount of projects in the MCU, there are plenty of opportunities for background roles. Big-name MCU actors will sometimes include their loved ones in a project as an Easter egg, with most of the appearances flying under the radar with more casual fans. However, the recent release of Thunderbolts* has given a bigger role to one actor whose famous father previously starred in the MCU. As fun as it is to have the father-son duo in the franchise, it’ll be extremely difficult to actually get them on screen together.

Wyatt Russell & Kurt Russell Are A Real-Life Father & Son Acting Duo

They Recently Acted In Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Together

The iconic actor Kurt Russell made his MCU debut in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 where he played the living planet Ego. A powerful individual, the Celestial was revealed to be Peter Quill’s father. Things quickly went south once Ego’s true intentions were exposed to the Guardians, including the fact that he caused Peter’s mother’s death. He was ultimately defeated by the end of the film, though Russell’s performance as Ego has been fondly remembered.

The son of Russell and actress Goldie Hawn, Wyatt Russell made his own MCU debut in 2021’s The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. Similarly to his father, he played an antagonist. John Walker briefly took on the Captain America mantle only to be disgraced from the position, setting him up for his appearance in Thunderbolts*. Surprisingly, the father-son duo don’t have as many joint acting credits as some other pairs do, but their most notable project has been their role on the Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, where they play the same character at different periods in his life.

The Characters Wyatt Russell & Kurt Russell Play In The MCU Are Now Effectively Impossible To Have Meet

Their Respective Characters Are From Different Franchises

It would’ve truly been a treat for the MCU to be another one of the Russells’ joint acting credits, but that possibility is highly unlikely. After learning about Ego’s true nature, the Guardians managed to take down the Celestial at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. He was thoroughly destroyed, and while there could be the possibility of Ego somehow surviving or growing back, there doesn’t seem to be a necessary narrative in which Marvel would have to do so.

In a world where Ego really did survive, it still wouldn’t help bring Kurt and Wyatt Russell together on-screen. The whole point of John Walker initially taking up the Captain America mantle was that he represented the normal American citizen. Even now that he’s somewhat redeemed himself and worked his way up to the Thunderbolts, he is still a ground-level hero. There’s no obvious reason as to why U.S. Agent would ever come across a powerful Celestial like Ego, especially with how elusive he even was to the Guardians.

The Russell Family’s MCU Characters Break A Franchise Tradition

Family Is Usually On Screen Together

Whenever an actor’s family members appear in the MCU, they’re usually given a role alongside their loved ones. Chris Hemsworth had his daughter India appear alongside him in Thor: Love & Thunder, with India playing Gorr’s daughter who was fittingly adopted by Thor at the end of the film. Hemsworth’s brother Luke has also made cameos as the actor playing Thor in several Asgardian stage plays. More recently, Alaqua Cox had her cousin Darnell Besaw appear as a younger Maya Lopez in Echo.

Even if family members aren’t exactly sharing the screen, they’re usually still in a related project. Guardians trilogy director James Gunn had his brother Sean do the motion capture for Rocket Raccoon, and Sean was even given an on-screen role with Kraglin. The Russell family breaks this franchise tradition since Ego and John Walker are two completely unrelated characters with little potential for crossover. While it’s a shame that we’ll never see them together on-screen in the MCU, it’s amazing having two generations of the family in the franchise regardless.