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"Even miracles take a little time."
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- “Not Super. Not Heroes. Not Giving up.”
- ―Tagline
Thunderbolts* is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name and a sequel to Ant-Man and the Wasp, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Captain America: Brave New World. It is scheduled to be released on May 2, 2025, and will be the thirty-sixth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the final film of Phase Five. It was directed by Jake Schreier and Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo wrote the screenplay. It was produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Synopsis
In Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it's too late?[1]
Cast
- Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova/Black Widow[2]
- Violet McGraw as Young Yelena
- Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier[3]
- Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent[2]
- Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster[3]
- Lewis Pullman as Robert Reynolds/Sentry/Void[4]
- Geraldine Viswanathan as Mel[4]
- David Harbour as Alexi Shostakov/Red Guardian[3]
- Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost[3]
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine[3]
- Laurence Fishburne as Bill Foster[5]
- Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff[5]
- Daniel Brühl as Helmut Zemo/Baron Zemo[2]
- Nicholas Gilomen as TBA[6]
- Chris Bauer as TBA[7]
- Wendell Pierce as Congressman Gary[7]
Production
Development on the film was announced on June 9, 2022 with Jake Schreier attached to direct and Eric Pearson writing the screenplay.[8] Production on the film was planned to begin on June 12, 2023,[9] but was briefly shut down due to the 2023 WGA strike. Production resumed after the strike was resolved.[10] Despite a previous report that the film would not resume production until after the writers strike was resolved, production began in the summer that same year in Utah.[11]
Filming officially begun on February 26, 2024.[12] By June 19 that same year production on the film was wrapped.[13]
Casting
Actor Steven Yeun was cast to play Sentry,[14] but it was reported on January 2, 2024 that he exited the film due to scheduling conflicts.[15] He was replaced by Lewis Pullman.[16] Ayo Edebiri was also replaced by Geraldine Viswanathan due to scheduling conflicts.[4]
Release
The film was previously scheduled for release July 26, 2024, but was pushed back to December 20.[17] The Hollywood Reporter reported on November 10, 2023 that the films release date had pushed back from December 20, 2024 to July 25, 2025.[18] By February 14, 2024, the film swapped release dates with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, now being released on May 2, 2025.[19]
Videos
Gallery
Trivia
- This is the fourth film in the MCU to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras, after Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
- The main teaser poster for the film resembles the poster for the 2013 Columbia Pictures/Point Grey Pictures film This Is The End.
- The second theatrical poster for the film is intended to resemble the front of a Wheaties box, based on a comment from Red Guardian about becoming the heroes seen on the Wheaties box. The large physical promotional stand issued to movie theaters goes so far as to add "health statistics" on the side of the box that instead list the character personalities. The back of the box is that of a maze for people to solve for real.
- The original tagline is a reference to the saying "be careful who you trust", reflecting how the team is made up of villains and anti-heroes.
- One of the alternate posters reveals that the asterisk (*) stands for "The Avengers are not available", as they disbanded following the events of Avengers: Endgame.
- Because the Avengers disbanded, Avengers Tower is now the Watchtower, the headquarters of the Thunderbolts.
- Director Jake Schreier revealed that one of the inspirations for this film was Toy Story 3, as the differing character dynamics helped influence the characters in his movie.
- Despite the second tagline claiming they are "not super", the only two members of the team without superpowers are Yelena and Taskmaster.
- The Thunderbolts are strikingly similar to DC's Suicide Squad, both being a team of villains and anti-heroes forced to do black ops missions for a government agent (Valentina de Fontaine and Amanda Waller). Bucky, working as Valentina's second in command, fills the roles of Rick Flag Sr. and Jr. and John Economos. That being said, the Thunderbolts are portrayed more sympathetically than how the Squad is usually portrayed.
- Mel is seen viewing the massive A that was originally on the front of the Watchtower when it was originally Avengers Tower and owned by Tony Stark. The A is now on display as an art piece at Val's gala, which also has other Avengers' relics on display, like the scepter that the Avengers took off Loki after the battle of New York in 2012.
- Also at the gala are banners that show silhouettes of both Iron Man and Captain America.
- The silhouette shows Iron Man with the Mark 7 armor, which he wore during the battle of New York.
- Also at the gala are banners that show silhouettes of both Iron Man and Captain America.
- One article post is talking about John Walker as Captain America from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
- Early in development, Schreier wanted Man-Thing to appear in the film, but he was already pegged for Werewolf by Night.
References
External links
Thunderbolts* on Wikipedia
Thunderbolts* on IMDb
Thunderbolts* on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
Thunderbolts* on the Marvel Database
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