MCU Star Challenges Critics: 'Thunderbolts Will Make You Eat Your Words'

Wyatt Russell, known for his role as U.S. Agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is determined to prove the skeptics wrong about the upcoming film *Thunderbolts*. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Russell shared his and his co-stars' collective ambition to surpass any preconceived notions that might deter audiences from watching the movie. He drew a parallel to his background in ice hockey, suggesting it equipped him with the drive to challenge and overcome doubts.

"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 explained. His athletic background fuels his determination to prove detractors wrong, stating, "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 lacks the familiar setup of origin movies that paved the way for successful franchises like the Avengers. "Thunderbolts presented a challenge because it is not a 'primed movie,'" he said, emphasizing that its characters—often anti-heroes—do not have their own standalone films leading into this project.

The cast of *Thunderbolts* includes notable actors such as 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 reprising his role 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 added, pointing out that *Thunderbolts* focuses on a group of misfits rather than established superheroes like Captain America, Thor, or Iron Man. He praised the challenge set by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to director Jake Schreier and the cast, expressing enthusiasm for the project.

Russell also touched on the diverse career paths of his co-stars, noting that many of them built their careers outside of the Marvel universe before joining the franchise. "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."

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Earlier this month, Sebastian Stan opened up about his career challenges before landing his pivotal role as the Winter Soldier in the MCU. In a conversation with Vanity Fair, Stan revealed how a residuals payment from his role in the 2010 film *Hot Tub Time Machine* played a crucial part in his journey to becoming James "Bucky" Barnes in the original *Captain America* movie.

"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 several subsequent films, including *Captain America: The Winter Soldier*, *Captain America: Civil War*, multiple Avengers movies, and this year's *Captain America: Brave New World*. He is set to reprise his role 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 Thunderbolts members, like John Walker, will continue to be a part of the MCU for the foreseeable future.