Sebastian Stan tells MCU critics "don't just go out there and s*** on something without offering something better"

Sebastian Stan has no time for MCU criticism – and thinks losing Marvel would leave a "big hole" in the industry. 

"I’ve never been part of a company that puts so much heart and thought into anything," Stan told GQ when the publication brought up critiques of the franchise. "I think if Marvel was gone, it’d be such a big hole to try and fill up. Don’t just go out there and shit on something without offering something better."

Stan has played Bucky Barnes, AKA the Winter Soldier, in the MCU since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. He went on to star in two more Captain America movies, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, along with the Disney Plus series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which aired in 2021. He'll reprise the role for the first time since then in the upcoming movie Thunderbolts*, alongside Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Next up for Stan, though, is The Apprentice, which arrives in US theaters on October 11 and UK cinemas on October 18. The movie sees him play Donald Trump during the early days of his business career in '70s and '80s New York, and follows his relationship with lawyer Roy Cohn (played by Succession's Jeremy Strong). 

Thunderbolts* is set to arrive on the big screen on May 2, 2025. In the meantime, make sure you're up to date with the MCU with our guide to the story so far in Marvel Phase 5 and a look at what's to come in Marvel Phase 6.