After years of rumors, Marvel's Thunderbolts is officially in the works, and here's everything we know about it so far including the release date, cast, and story. Director Jake Schreier will direct the Thunderbolts movie, continuing Marvel Studios' long tradition of dipping into the indie talent pool to find filmmakers. And thanks to announcements from 2022's SDCC and the D23 Expo, the longtime theory project is finally official.
Even before the confirmation of the movie's existence and then the cast, plenty of Marvel moviegoers had speculated for quite some time that a Thunderbolts team would show up in the MCU. Part of that is thanks to the stalwart presence of Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, who audiences believe deserves more of a leadership role than what he's been given to date, as well as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's sneaky recruitment process throughout The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow. New characters with gray morality being introduced, Marvel's darker tone in Phase 3 and beyond, and the success of the Thunderbolts' DC equivalent The Suicide Squad also lent weight to the idea that a Thunderbolts project could be in development.
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The Thunderbolts MCU movie will likely be quite different to its Marvel Comics counterpart, which is par for the course for Marvel's live-action movies and TV shows. Still, quite a bit has already been secretly assembled in the MCU for a Thunderbolts movie, and many of its main players are confirmed. Here's everything we know about Marvel's upcoming Thunderbolts movie.
Who Are The Thunderbolts?
In the comics, the Thunderbolts are a group of reformed villains. The original team was started by Baron Zemo after the Avengers were killed, but, unknown to the rest of the world, the new Thunderbolts team was actually Zemo's Masters of Evil in disguise. As time goes on, however, the Thunderbolts actually start to enjoy being seen as heroes and doing good, and end up overthrowing Zemo as their leader. In the comics, as with all comic book super-teams, the Thunderbolts' lineup and leadership have changed significantly over the years, with various members leaving and joining the team. One factor has always remained consistent, however: the Thunderbolts are far more morally gray than the Avengers.
Thunderbolts Movie Cast
The comic book Thunderbolts team has seen a revolving door of members over the years. However, there are a few characters already in (or formerly in) the MCU that have been associated with the team in the comics. That includes a number of characters who have led the Thunderbolts, including Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofri0), and even Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). Most of these are unlikely to appear, however, as the official cast of Marvel's Thunderbolts was announced at 2022's D23 Expo. These are Contessa Val (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who very well could step into the role of Thunderbolts leader, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and of course, Bucky Barnes. Other characters from the comics might make cameo appearances or be added later, but for now, this is the core MCU Thunderbolts team line-up.
Thunderbolts Movie Story
At the moment, plot details for Thunderbolts are being kept well under wraps, and it's not clear that there's even a script yet. However, there are plenty of ways for the MCU to go with this. With Zemo's ending in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier clearly setting up more of him in the future, it's entirely possible that the MCU could adapt some version of the team's origin story from the comics in which Zemo recruits a team of villains disguised as heroes. However, with Contessa Val now in the mix and Zemo seemingly playing both sides (but absent from announcements so far), it's likelier that Marvel will forgo the villain origins and go straight to making them a team of antiheroes and other heroes who have fallen from grace. What they could face is unclear, but it would not be a surprise to see the story of the Thunderbolts movie set up in a Disney+ show or two.
Thunderbolts Movie Release Date
The Thunderbolts movie announced its director, Jake Schreier, in 2022, and Black Widow's Eric Pearson is tapped to write the script, so the project is coming together. The movie is slated to begin shooting in the summer of 2023, and its official release date, for now, is July 26, 2024. Marvel's current project slate and release schedule is jam-packed, which means all the upcoming projects could change but will hopefully stay on course. Marvel's Thunderbolts stands in a unique position at the tail end of Phase 5, as it features characters that have already been thoroughly introduced but represents the formation of an all-new team. As such, it will be an important turning point for the MCU moving forward.