6 days Ago By Chris Tilly
Thunderbolts* star Wyatt Russell has a message for people disparaging the new Marvel movie, saying he hopes they will “eat their words.” Thunderbolts* is an interesting proposition for the Marvel Cinematic Universe , as unlike The Avengers who were mostly introduced in their own standalone movies, these anti-heroes have played a much smaller role in the ongoing franchise. Bucky’s first appearance was in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Yelena, Taskmaster, and Red Guard debuted in Black Widow. Ghost was first seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp. John Walker was introduced in TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
So this is very much a new era for the MCU, and Wyatt Russell – who plays Walker/U.S. Agent – says that he’s out to prove people wrong.
Wyatt Russell has a message for anyone who thinks Thunderbolts will “blow” When asked about the more serious issues that Thunderbolts* tackles – most notably loneliness and depression – Wyatt Russell told The Hollywood Reporter that those themes are what will set the film apart from previous MCU movies. “How do you go from making the kind of [Marvel] movies that you’ve seen the past 15 years – and knowing how most of those movies have performed – to then doing anything outside the realm of what you’ve known Marvel to be?” says Russell. “It’s a departure in any way, shape, or form – and a risk.
“This type of storytelling isn’t often told in any superhero form. It’s much more like a team of people who are very good at what they do, and they’re fighting a bad guy who has some existential threat about him. The world’s going to blow up or people are going to disappear, whatever it is, and they need to stop him.
“But this is a bunch of people who have main character syndrome, and they have to come together as one team. They’re thrust into an environment where they have to be a team, but they don’t want to be, and that just makes for interesting people. Related Captain America: Brave New World – Release date, cast, trailers & more Russell also says that the majority of the cast previously made their names in non-Marvel fare, so they approached Thunderbolts from a different direction.
“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.’ 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.” But then they see the trailer and they’re like, ‘This looks pretty good.
’ So I like that part of it.” Thunderbolts* hits UK cinemas on May 1, 2025, and US screens on May 2. For more from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, read about Baron Zemo and Sentry/The Void , check out every upcoming MCU title , and take a look at our ranking of the MCU’s movies .
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