Wyatt Russell, known for his role as U.S. Agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is determined to prove skeptics of the upcoming Thunderbolts film wrong. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Russell shared that he and his co-stars are eager to challenge any negative perceptions about the movie. He emphasized his competitive spirit, drawing from his ice hockey background, and expressed a desire to exceed expectations.
“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 added, "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 pointed out that Thunderbolts faces a unique challenge as it doesn't follow the traditional Marvel formula of building on characters with their own origin stories. Instead, it focuses on a team of anti-heroes and misfits without prior standalone films. 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 highlighted the diverse backgrounds of the cast, noting that many of them, including himself, had established careers outside of Marvel before joining the franchise. “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 varied paths his co-stars took to reach this point. He mentioned his own journey through numerous television roles, David Harbour's extensive Broadway career, and Sebastian Stan's pre-Marvel achievements. He noted that Florence Pugh, too, had a notable career outside of the MCU. This diversity in experience, he believes, adds a unique flavor to the Thunderbolts project.
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 joining the MCU as the Winter Soldier. In a conversation 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 sci-fi 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 has since reprised his role as Bucky Barnes in several films, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), multiple Avengers movies, and the recent Captain America: Brave New World. He is set to return as the superhero in the upcoming Thunderbolts film. Additionally, Stan’s name was included in the cast reveal for Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, indicating that he and other Thunderbolts members, including John Walker, will continue to be significant figures in the MCU.
