There was a Fantastic Four joke cut out of a recent Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, and the actor who came up with it explains what happened. The Fantastic Four finally debuted in the MCU in 2026 in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, along with the Thunderbolts* movie and Captain America: Brave New World. While Brave New World worked to show the current world in the MCU, while bringing back some characters from the past, both Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps set things up for the future. The big scene at the end of Thunderbolts* was there to prepare for the intro to Avengers: Doomsday.
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According to Thunderbolts* actor Wyatt Russell (John Walker/U.S. Agent), he came up with a joke that he though was “so funny” that was cut out of the final scenes in that movie because the people around him thought he was an “idiot.” This happened when the New Avengers (formerly the Thunderbolts) saw the space craft headed to Earth and Russell revealed at MEGACON Orlando (via @AvengersUpdated) that he ad-libbed a line. “The Fantastic Four spaceship comes up, then I made the joke, ‘What’s the four for?’” Russell said. “I thought it was so funny, and I was cracking myself up. Everyone else was like, ‘Oh my god, Wyatt’s an idiot.’”
The Thunderbolts* Post-Credit Scene Was Shot During Avengers: Doomsday Filming
The Thunderbolts* post-credit scene where the New Avengers saw the arrival of the Fantastic Four’s shuttle was not shot by that movie’s director, Jake Schreier. Instead, the Russo Brothers shot the scene in the set of Avengers: Doomsday after the fact and it was added as the biggest post-credit stinger heading into the new event movie. It is almost assured that the New Avengers will be who greets the Fantastic Four, and whoever else is aboard that ship first, which means it will end up as a giant mess before Sam Wilson and his Avengers show up.
Wyatt Russell will be back in Avengers: Doomsday as U.S. Agent, along with Red Guardian, Yelena Belova, Winter Soldier, Ghost, and possibly Sentry, although Bob was refusing to use his powers in that post-credit scene since he was still scared of the Void. In the same panel where he revealed his “joke” about the Fantastic Four, Russell also spoke about how he is able to help John Walker continue to develop, from the original government replacement or Captain America to an antihero in the Thunderbolts, and then, eventually, as a member of the New Avengers.
Wyatt Russell said his goal is to make his character remain interesting no matter how many movies or series he appears in. He explained that U.S. Agent is very different than the character who first appeared in Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the version in Avengers: Doomsday will be very different from how he appeared in Thunderbolts*. That will be important if the character wants to stand out in a crowded Avengers: Doomsday movie that includes two Avengers teams, the Wakandans, Namor, and the returning Fantastic Four and X-Men.
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