If you’re a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you might recall Wyatt Russell, the actor behind U.S. Agent, who set out to silence the doubters of the highly anticipated Thunderbolts. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Russell expressed his determination to create something special with his fellow castmates, challenging any preconceived notions that might deter audiences from watching the film. Drawing inspiration from his ice hockey background, Russell was eager to prove the skeptics 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 shared.
With an athletic background, Russell embraced the challenge, 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 that Thunderbolts presents a unique challenge compared to other Marvel films. Unlike characters such as Captain America or Iron Man, whose solo origins laid the groundwork for larger narratives, Thunderbolts focuses on lesser-known anti-heroes. Characters like Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) don’t have established solo arcs leading into the film.
“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 noted that many of the cast members didn’t achieve success through traditional routes. “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: A Misfit Super-Team
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This month, Sebastian Stan opened up about his early struggles before securing the pivotal role of the Winter Soldier. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Stan mentioned being financially rescued by a $65,000 residuals payment from Hot Tub Time Machine before his breakthrough in Captain America: The First Avenger. From there, he reprised his role in subsequent films, including Civil War, the Avengers series, and Brave New World. He will return as Bucky in Thunderbolts and is expected to remain in the MCU for years to come.
Russell and his co-stars bring a fresh dynamic to the MCU, proving that even underdogs can shine brightly in the world of superheroes.
