Sebastian Stan Found A Bucky Moment In Thunderbolts Deeply Unfunny - SlashFilm (2025)

Table of Contents

Sebastian Stan appreciates Marvel's collaborative approach Recommended References

"Thunderbolts*" deals with the complex topic of depression, with The Void (Lewis Pullman) literally purging all of the light and joy out of New York City during his showdown with the titular super-team. However, while the film's emotional subject matter is often challenging, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's latest box office-topping blockbuster is still full of humor. Take, for instance, the scene where Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) uses a dishwasher to clean his prosthetic arm, which shows the Congressman at his most lighthearted. That said, Stan struggled to find the humor in it.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the "Apprentice" star recalled approaching director Jake Schreier in an effort to have the scene removed from the movie. In his own words:

"I immediately said to Jake, 'I don't understand why this is funny. You do not need this. This is silly. But Jake was like, 'But maybe you could be eating something and then it can just go everywhere.' And I go, 'Really? That's what's going to [happen]?'"

Despite his initial reservations about the arm in the dishwasher, Stan eventually came around to the idea, even admitting that he finds it funny nowadays. The actor was clearly wrong about this particular visual gag's power to entertain audience members, but he felt comfortable sharing his concerns, as "Thunderbolts*" was a collaborative affair.

Sebastian Stan appreciates Marvel's collaborative approach

Sebastian Stan Found A Bucky Moment In Thunderbolts Deeply Unfunny - SlashFilm (5)

Marvel Studios

The "Thunderbolts*" set saw the cast and crew come forward to share their own ideas for the betterment of the movie, many of which were taken on board. During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Sebastian Stan revealed that Marvel projects aren't entirely controlled by their directors or studio higher-ups, so there are plenty of opportunities to experiment and figure out what works best for the movie or series in question. To quote the actor directly:

"On most of the Marvel films that I've worked on, the communication was always, 'May the best idea win, whoever has it, be it the director, the actor, [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige].' It's always been very inclusive in that way, and ['Thunderbolts*'] was really, really that way. They were really open to us bringing our input, and if we had a better idea of how we could say something, it was heard or, at times, even included in the movie."

On the flip side of the coin, some great ideas don't make it into the final cut of the superhero studio's projects. For example, Marvel originally had funnier plans for Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) in "Thunderbolts*," which would have given the characters an on-again, off-again friendship. That could have been entertaining, but it just wasn't to be, and we all saw what happened to Taskmaster.

"Thunderbolts*" is now playing in theaters.