Marvel Studios has only released one film this year, but its popularity more than compensates for the absence of MCU programming. Deadpool and Wolverine have ruled the box office this summer, grossing more than $1.3 billion, engineering a comeback for the studio that only Marvel could carry off.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe will release a lot more content in 2025, including Captain America: Brave New World and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The third film will bring together some of the franchise’s most beloved characters to build a new squad unlike anything we’ve seen in the series before. This is not the Avengers; it’s the Thunderbolts.
If you, like all of us, weren’t entirely sure what to expect from the upcoming movie, Marvel Studios has released the first trailer for the movie, and it’s really quite something.
1. Pugh and Sebastian Stan lead the Thunderbolts in Marvel’s new trailer
Say what you will, but Thunderbolts* is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated films of the next year. The teaser shows that the film will be an action-packed affair centered on some of the MCU’s most beloved supporting characters.
Yelena Belova looks to be at the core of it, struggling to find her place in the world following the death of her sister Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow. She assumed that immersing herself into work would be the solution, but as she tells father figure Alexei Shostakov, a.k.a. Red Guardian (David Harbour), it hasn’t worked.
It also doesn’t help that it puts her in danger as she fights John Walker, a.k.a. US Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr, a.k.a. Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Antonia Dreykov, a.k.a. Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Bob, a.k.a. Sentry (Lewis Pullman).
Many of those characters appear to be disillusioned with life, so when they confront one other, things go physical as an all-out fight for survival begins.
Bob was already in there before the rest of them were sent. The question was why. Before that question can be answered, the facility is shut down, with the obvious purpose of killing all warriors in the area.
They are no longer needed by the person who was utilizing them, hence they pose a risk. As a result, the assassins, warriors, and operatives decide to band together with the common objective of survival.
They will also be helped by Alexei, who pretends to be a getaway driver for them, assisting them in evading the agency that is attempting to bring them down. However, as John Walker points out, the automobile is not bulletproof!
The wild card in this situation is Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who very much seems to be back in Winter Soldier mode, tracking down the Thunderbolts in a scene reminiscent of the Terminator movies and destroying their vehicle.
Call us crazy, but it appears like the person who sent Bucky after them is none other than Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Yelena and John’s boss.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus has portrayed her in three films: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. During the first two of those appearances, she recruited John Walker and assigned Yelena to assassinate Hawkeye, but she did not follow through.
Could she have pulled a move similar to DC’s Amanda Waller and decided she no longer needs these operatives? And if so, is she the one who sent Bucky after them?
It’s going to be interesting to see where this goes, because Bucky does inevitably align himself with the Thunderbolts as they confront Valentina in an office space.
About Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts* is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics team Thunderbolts. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Jake Schreier and written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo. It stars an ensemble cast featuring David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Geraldine Viswanathan, Lewis Pullman, Olga Kurylenko, and Florence Pugh. In the film, a group of antiheroes goes on missions for the government.
Marvel Studios began teasing the formation of a Thunderbolts team within the MCU in 2021. The film was revealed to be in development in June 2022, when Schreier and Pearson were attached. The film’s main cast members were revealed that September, followed by additional casting through early 2023. Lee joined to rewrite the film’s script by March 2023, one of several creatives who returned to work with Schreier from the Netflix series Beef (2023). Production was delayed due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, causing some actors to leave the project and be replaced in early 2024, when Calo joined. Filming took place from February to June 2024 at Trilith Studios and Atlanta Metro Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional filming in Utah.
Thunderbolts* is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 2, 2025, as the last film of Phase Five of the MCU.
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