MCU Star Challenges Thunderbolts Critics: 'Prepare to Eat Your Words'

Wyatt Russell, known for portraying U.S. Agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is determined to prove skeptics of the upcoming Thunderbolts film wrong. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Russell emphasized the collective drive among the cast to challenge any negative preconceptions about the movie. He drew a parallel to his own ice hockey background, which he believes has prepared him to tackle such challenges head-on.

"We came to this as a group of people who were like, 'Let’s make this our own thing, let’s make it great and let’s make people put their foot in their mouths,'" Russell stated. He further elaborated on his competitive spirit, fueled by his athletic past, saying, "I have a little bit of an athletic background, so I was like, 'Yeah, I want to make you eat your words if you’re like, this movie’s going to blow, I don’t want to go see it.'"

Russell highlighted the unique challenge posed by Thunderbolts, noting that unlike other Marvel films, it does not rely on characters who have had their own origin stories leading up to the movie. He explained, "Thunderbolts presented a challenge because it is not a 'primed movie.' By that, I mean that its superheroes—or anti-heroes in this case—do not have their own origin movies that lead into Thunderbolts, as the hugely successful Avengers benefited from."

The cast of Thunderbolts includes Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster, Lewis Pullman as Bob / Sentry / Void, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / Ghost, and Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent. Russell pointed out, "There are no characters in this film, really, that have their own stuff in the Marvel universe that much. It’s not Captain America, it’s not Thor, it’s not Iron Man, it’s not the Avengers. [Thunderbolts] is more of these misfit types."

He praised the challenge given to the director, Jake Schreier, and the cast by Marvel's Kevin Feige, saying, "And that challenge that Kevin Feige gave Jake [Schreier] and this particular group of actors, it was like, 'Hell yeah.' I don’t want to speak for everybody, but most of us didn’t make it by doing this. Everybody didn’t come to this as a young person and make it this way. I did weird TV shows for a million years, and David [Harbour] has been acting on Broadway [since 2000]. Sebastian had a whole career before he joined Marvel, and while he’s been a part of it for so long, he’s also done so many incredible things outside of Marvel. It has not defined him. Florence, same thing."

The Thunderbolts: The Tumultuous History of Marvel's Twisted Super-Team

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Earlier this month, Sebastian Stan shared insights into his career struggles before landing the role of the Winter Soldier in the MCU. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Stan revealed that a $65,000 residuals payment from Hot Tub Time Machine was a lifeline for him. He had portrayed the antagonist Blaine in the 2010 American science fiction comedy and later starred alongside Chris Evans in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger.

"I was actually struggling with work," Stan admitted. "I had just gotten off the phone with my business manager, who told me I was saved by $65,000 that came in residuals from Hot Tub Time Machine."

Stan reprised his role as Bucky Barnes in several subsequent films, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), the Avengers movies, this year's Captain America: Brave New World, and is set to return in next month's Thunderbolts. His involvement in Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal suggests that Bucky and other Thunderbolts members, including John Walker, will continue to play significant roles in the MCU.