Wyatt Russell, renowned for his role as U.S. Agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is determined to silence the skeptics surrounding the upcoming Thunderbolts movie. In a candid conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Russell emphasized the collective drive of the Thunderbolts cast to defy any preconceived doubts about the film's potential. Drawing from his background in ice hockey, Russell expressed a personal stake in proving the naysayers wrong.
"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 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 isn't a "primed movie" in the traditional sense. Unlike the Avengers, whose members had their own origin stories leading into their team-up films, the characters in Thunderbolts are less established within the Marvel universe. 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. "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. And that challenge that Kevin Feige gave Jake [Schreier] and this particular group of actors, it was like, 'Hell yeah.'"
Russell also touched on the diverse career paths of the Thunderbolts cast, noting that many of them had established careers before joining the MCU. "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 pivotal role of the Winter Soldier in the MCU. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Stan revealed that a $65,000 residuals payment from his role in Hot Tub Time Machine was a lifeline during a challenging period. He played the antagonist Blaine in the 2010 film and subsequently starred alongside Chris Evans in Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011.
"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), various Avengers movies, and this year's Captain America: Brave New World. He is set to return as the Winter Soldier in the upcoming Thunderbolts. Additionally, Stan's name was included in the cast reveal for Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, indicating that Bucky and other Thunderbolts members, including John Walker, will continue to be integral to the MCU.
