Kevin Feige revealed that Marvel Studios has a Thunderbolts movie in development. But what do we know so far?
Thanks to Marvel Studios’ San Diego Comic-Con presentation. If anyone had any doubts as to whether the MCU was aimless from Avengers: EndgameThey were quite wrong. Everything we’ve seen so far of Phase 4 is just a taster of what’s to come in Phases 5 and 6. This weekend we discovered a bunch of projects in the works with release dates. But they are only part of it, because D23 is expected to fill in some blank spaces that appeared in the Phase 6 plan. That list of future releases includes the presentation of the team known as the Thunderbolts, announced for the summer of 2024.
Long rumored project
At Cinemascomics we have been talking for a long time about a possible film of Thunderbolts, long before Comic-Con. The president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, announced that the project will not only be part of Phase 5, but will be in charge of closing it. It was recently reported that Jake Schreier (A Friend for Frank, Paper Towns) was hired in early June to direct the film, and shortly after the news broke, the screenwriter of Black WidowEric Pearson, announced his participation in the project.
The Thunderbolts they are known as one of the biggest villain teams in Marvel. In the comics, they pose as superheroes to ensure that, as was the case with other groups of superheroes, they would be trusted with the secrets of defense and national security of the United States.
Marvel Studios, after its announcement at Comic Con, released an official press release that anticipates some exciting details to consider.
The press release describes the film’s titular crew as “an exciting new group of heroes.” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige also hinted at what to expect from Thunderbolts. Noting that the “Phase 5 will end” with this movie. He also said that there will be more announcements than “they will go through the team another day”so that the fans know that there will be “more surprises” in the path. Surely he was referring to the D23, which is going to arrive loaded with announcements and, as Feige said, with surprises.
Which characters will be in the Thunderbolts?
The most important question regarding the announcement of this film is, who will be part of this “exciting new group of heroes”. Fortunately, Phase 4 already has some of those answers thanks to what has been published so far.
Falcon and the winter soldier introduced Valentina Allegra de Fontaine as the possible leader or sponsor of the team. With Wyatt Russell’s John Walker as the US agent being recruited by her at the end of the series. We also got to see the return of Daniel Brühl’s Helmut Zemo, who is guarded by the Dora Milaje in Wakanda, and even Bucky Barnes could have a role on the team.
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine also interacted with Yelena Belova in the post-credits scene of Black Widow. She sent her on a mission to kill Clint Barton by making him believe that he was responsible for the death of her sister Natasha Romanoff. That same film also brought Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster.
Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings brought in two other important potential members. Xialing, who now heads the Ten Rings organization. And Tim Roth’s Abomination before his return in She-Hulk: Lawyer Hulksetting him up for another potential member of the Thunderbolts.
There are also more potential inclusions from other MCU movies like Ant-Man and the Waspwith Ghost, whom we haven’t seen again yet, or Justin Hammer from Iron Man 2 (which we may possibly see in Armor wars).
How will the Thunderbolts present themselves?
Feige shared that the MCU’s Thunderbolts will be seen as heroes within this universe, although they are better known as an entity made up of villains in the comics. Potential team members range from redeemed villains to anti-heroes, meaning their reason for joining will be something that will keep fans on their toes.
If nothing else, Marvel has a meaningful way of naming the team in the MCU thanks to the late William Hurt’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. Since Hurt has sadly passed away, the MCU could see his character come to an end in the story after numerous heart surgeries, leading to Valentina or another key player naming the team. “Thunderbolts” after Ross’s influence on the story. It could also happen that Marvel Studios does a recast for the character of Ross and thus make it easier for him to become Red Hulk in the future, you never know.
Most of these characters have also not been officially announced to return at any point in Phase 5 before the release of Thunderbolts, though things could change at the upcoming D23.