Marvel Cinematic Universe star Wyatt Russell, who portrays U.S. Agent, is determined to prove skeptics of the upcoming Thunderbolts film wrong. In a candid interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Russell shared that he and his co-stars are eager to challenge any preconceived notions that might deter audiences from seeing the movie. He drew a parallel to his background in ice hockey, suggesting it has prepared him well for this challenge.
"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 emphasized his athletic background, 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 of Thunderbolts, noting that it is not a "primed movie." Unlike the Avengers, whose members had their own origin stories leading into their team-up films, Thunderbolts features a cast of characters without such established backstories. The film stars 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.
"There are no characters in this film, really, that have their own stuff in the Marvel universe that much," Russell explained. He emphasized that Thunderbolts focuses on "misfit types," a challenge embraced by director Jake Schreier and the cast, as encouraged by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
Russell also touched on the diverse career paths of his co-stars, noting that many did not achieve fame through Marvel initially. "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 opened up about his career struggles before landing the pivotal MCU role of the Winter Soldier. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Stan revealed that a $65,000 residuals payment from Hot Tub Time Machine was a lifeline for him before he played James "Bucky" Barnes in the original Captain America movie. Stan 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 in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), various Avengers films, and this year’s Captain America: Brave New World. He is set to return as the Winter Soldier in next month’s Thunderbolts. Additionally, Stan’s name was included in the cast reveal for Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, indicating that Bucky and other members of the Thunderbolts, including John Walker, will continue to be significant figures in the MCU.
