Wyatt Russell Says Fans Still Don’t Realize Kurt Russell Is His Father After Monarch Q&A
During a fan question-and-answer session for Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, wyatt russell read viral reactions that revealed many viewers had not connected him to his father, Kurt Russell. The exchange — which included a shocked Pikachu GIF and a viral tweet dated February 25, 2026 — highlighted a surprising gap in public recognition and drew laughter from both actors.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Q& A
Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell appear as younger and older versions, respectively, of the same character, Lee Shaw, in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, a series set in the MonsterVerse and distributed on Apple TV+. At a fan event tied to the show, wyatt russell read aloud social posts about his casting and the duo’s on-screen likeness, prompting live reactions and online sharing that made the moment spread quickly.
Fan reaction and the Pikachu GIF
One clip Wyatt read featured a fan writing that the actor playing the younger Lee Shaw was doing “a pretty cool Kurt Russell impersonation. ” Kurt Russell laughed at the use of the word “impersonation” when his son read it, and the comment went on to say, “My face when I found out it was actually his son, ” paired with a shocked Pikachu GIF. A ScreenTime tweet on February 25, 2026 highlighted that moment, capturing the online surprise.
Wyatt Russell on public recognition and past career
Wyatt, who is 39 years old, acknowledged that not everyone has made the connection between him and his father. He said he has encountered people who respond, “Oh wow, you’re actually his son, ” and added that after 17 years in the public eye he assumed most people would know. He also noted that fewer people seem aware of the real-life relationship than he expected. Before committing to acting, Wyatt pursued a professional hockey career.
Wyatt Russell’s Marvel roles and upcoming return
Beyond Monarch, Wyatt Russell has an established presence in the Marvel universe. He portrayed John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and reprised the role in Thunderbolts. He is set to return as that character in the upcoming Marvel film Avengers: Doomsday. The succession of appearances has built a clear through-line between television and feature projects for the actor.
Kurt Russell, Escape from New York and on-screen father-son pairing
Kurt Russell, known for films such as Escape from New York, shared the screen with his son in Monarch, bringing a real-life father-son dynamic to the MonsterVerse project. During the fan session, moments of levity — including Wyatt joking that Pikachu “might be more famous than Godzilla” — underscored the pair’s easy rapport and how that chemistry reads on camera.
Other headlines visible alongside the story
The page that carried the Monarch Q& A coverage also listed a series of other headlines and items: a roundup titled “Everything you need to know about the 2026 Actor Awards”; commentary that Microsoft is weak and a cheap MacBook could tempt users tired of Windows; a note that Ty Simpson had just 15 starts in his college career at Alabama; and coverage of fans piling on Aaron Glenn and the Jets.
Additional lines included that Apple and Netflix are teaming up to share Formula 1 programming; that Burger King will use AI to monitor employee friendliness; and that the Canadian government has demanded safety changes from OpenAI. A sporting schedule item named two-legged matches to be played March 10–11 and March 17–18. Business and market items cited Nvidia's fourth-quarter results due after the closing bell on Wednesday and the Raiders holding the first pick in the NFL Draft and likely selecting their next quarterback. Lifestyle mentions ranged from plane-ride survival gear to workout upgrades. Finally, the page noted that OpenAI vowed to take immediate steps to strengthen its safety protocols in a letter addressed to Canadian authorities.
What makes this notable is how a single promotional event tied to a franchise series produced a cascade of online reactions — and a reminder that celebrity family ties can still surprise a portion of the audience despite long careers and prominent projects.
