After years of speculations, Marvel’s Thunderbolts has officially been confirmed, and a release date of July 2024 has been declared. In this article, we have compiled everything known about Marvel’s new anti-hero team so far.
During the MCU’s phase 4, The Thunderbolts were first introduced to the audience. Thanks to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s sneaky casting.
2022’s D23 Expo was the first time an official announcement was made about the Thunderbolts when many cast members, including Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, were confirmed. It was also announced that Bucky would be joined by General Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford). The casting of Harrison Ford as General Ross grabbed headlines and rekindled the excitement amongst the MCU fandom.
Who are Marvel’s Thunderbolts?
The Thunderbolts are a group of “reformed” villains in the comics. Their actual leader is Baron Zemo, who starts the group after the Avengers are killed. The Thunderbolts aim for world domination by gaining the trust of the people.
Since Baron Zemo is instrumental in the group’s creation, many expect him in the cast even though he’s never appeared before.
Although they have nefarious beginnings, the Thunderbolts start enjoying the love and trust they gain by doing good. They eventually overthrow their leader and become a philanthropic group of superheroes.
The leadership and the members of the group are never constant. The title Thunderbolts has been attached to several iterations of the group, and the core hasn’t been as consistent as the Avengers.
The major difference between The Avengers and The Thunderbolts is that throughout history, the latter has always been morally ambiguous.
What is the story of the Thunderbolts movie?
As usual, the plot details of the Thunderbolts story are being kept under wraps for now. We don’t even know if there is a finished script yet.
Since most of the characters are familiar, the makers can dive right into the story without much exposition. Also, most of the characters seem less villainous in the movies when compared to the comics.
Who they will come up against remains unclear as of now. But we can assume that the movie’s story may be set up using a Disney+ show or two.
Andy Park, Marvel Studios’ Director of the Visual Department, said that the movie has strong ties to Black Widow. This could mean that the film could pay tribute to one of the MCU’s biggest anti-heroes, Natasha Romanoff.
Thunderbolts Movie Cast
The official cast of the Thunderbolts movie was announced at the D23 Expo, 2023. It is packed with recognizable faces like Contessa Val (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Ava/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), and Red Guardian (David Harbour).
Thunderbolts also marks the debut of Ayo Edebiri in an unspecified role. After the havoc he caused in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Tim Roth’s Abomination can also be a surprise addition to the squad.
Contessa Val appears to be the team’s leader, and we also expect to see Harrison Ford at some point in the movie. Other MCU characters are expected to make cameo appearances in the film, but this is the core Thunderbolts team for now.
Thunderbolts Movie Release Date
Jake Schreier was announced as the director of the Thunderbolts movie in 2022, and Eric Pearson was tapped to write the script. The shooting is supposed to begin in June 2023, and the official release date for Thunderbolts is July 26, 2024.
Thunderbolts Movie Trailer
The filming of the Thunderbolts movie is supposed to begin in June 2023. So, there isn’t much footage to compile into a trailer. A teaser will be released once the filming begins and enough pre-production footage is available.
Assuming there are no delays, we can expect the earliest teaser to be out by January 2024.
Harrison Ford as The Red Hulk in The MCU Thunderbolts
Harrison Ford replacing William Hurt as MCU’s ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross could also mean that he might become Red Hulk for Marvel’s Thunderbolts.
In the books, Ross’ obsession with defeating the Hulk made him gang up with some of the most dangerous villains in the MCU. Assembled by Ross- Doc Samson, MODOK, and The Leader, these villains teamed together and called themselves the Intelligencia.
The Intelligencia siphoned energy from the Hulk using various techniques, which was used to transform Ross into the Red Hulk.
In the comics, it is mentioned that after the Phoenix War, Ross led an iteration of Thunderbolts composed of Venom, Elektra, Punisher, Mercy, Ghost Rider, Deadpool, and the Leader.
Thus, Harrison Ford becoming Thunderbolt Ross seems so exciting to fans. If he appears as The Red Hulk in Thunderbolts, that can affect a range of MCU projects further down the line!
About Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts is an upcoming superhero-fantasy movie set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige officially announced Thunderbolts as a movie at the San Diego Comic-Con.
The Thunderbolts are a fictional antihero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group consists primarily of reformed supervillains, similar to the Suicide Squad.
The film will be based on this group, consisting of Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, a.k.a US Agent, Florence Pugh’s Yelena, and Daniel Bruhl’s Zemo. It is set to release on May 2, 2025 and will wrap up Phase 5 of the MCU.
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