One of the stars of Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is currently topping IMDb’s charts to be crowned the most popular celebrity on the internet, but it might not be who you’re expecting. The movie and media database updates its STARmeter every week, with the rankings based on the amount of views each celeb’s IMDb profile gains over the period. And right now the person in the number one slot is none other than the newest Captain America, Wyatt Russell.
Russell’s career actually goes all the way back to his infancy, as he appeared as a baby in a couple of his dad’s movies – his parents are Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. However, he’s finally achieving mainstream recognition for his turn as John Walker in the Disney Plus series. The character has been controversially chosen by the U.S. government as the successor to Steve Rogers, something that protagonists Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes aren’t happy about.
Where are the two stars of The Falcon and Winter Soldier on IMDb’s STARmeter, though? Well, Sebastian Stan is doing all right, occupying 11th place, just above fellow Marvel actor Elizabeth Olsen in 17th. Anthony Mackie, however, is strangely not even in the Top 100. It’s probably a safe bet to assume that his popularity on the site will increase as the series continues, though.
As for Russell’s chart-topping position, it’s possibly down to his not being a known name before this, so folks are looking him up to see what else he’s been in. It’s ironic that he’s the internet’s current most popular celeb, though, seeing as Marvel fans everywhere pretty much hate John Walker’s guts for daring to don the Cap suit. At least the actor himself was prepared for the backlash, though, joking that it’s an “honor” to be hated in the Marvel universe.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres its third episode this Friday on Disney Plus.