Wyatt Russell, known for portraying U.S. Agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is determined to silence the skeptics surrounding the upcoming Thunderbolts movie. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Russell expressed that he and his co-stars are motivated to defy any negative expectations about the film. He credits his background in ice hockey for giving him the drive to prove doubters 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 emphasized his athletic background as a factor in his determination: "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 presents a unique challenge because it's not a "primed movie." Unlike the Avengers films, which were preceded by individual origin stories for its heroes, Thunderbolts features a cast of characters who lack such extensive background narratives within the Marvel universe.

The ensemble cast of Thunderbolts includes 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.

Russell elaborated on the film's unique position: “There are no characters in this film, really, that have their own stuff in the Marvel universe that much. 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.’”

He highlighted the diverse career paths of his co-stars, noting that many had established themselves in various fields 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

View 11 ImagesEarlier this month, Sebastian Stan shared his career struggles before landing the pivotal MCU role of the Winter Soldier. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Stan revealed that a $65,000 residuals payment from Hot Tub Time Machine was crucial for him before he portrayed James "Bucky" Barnes in the original Captain America movie. Stan played the antagonist Blaine in the 2010 American science fiction comedy, 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 in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), multiple Avengers movies, Captain America: Brave New World this year, and is set to return as the superhero in next month’s Thunderbolts. Additionally, Stan's name appeared in the cast reveal for Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, indicating that Bucky and other members of the Thunderbolts, including John Walker, will continue to be significant figures in the MCU.