David Harbour teases the Red Guardian's new suit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) upcoming film, Thunderbolts. Thunderbolts was first confirmed to be in development in June of this year and, at the 2022 San Diego Comic Con, it received an official release date of July 26, 2022. During the months since its development was announced, many speculated on which MCU stars would be appearing in the film. Many honed in on Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the secretive team of anti-heroes she seemed to be setting up in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow.
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Then, at the D23 Expo, the cast of Thunderbolts was officially confirmed. Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Alexei/Red Guardian (Harbour), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Valentina are all part of Thunderbolts' exciting line-up. Plot details are still being kept under wraps, but the casting definitely hints at the Thunderbolts providing some insight into what the mysterious Valentine is up to. It's likely the film will also tie up loose ends from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Hakweye.
Following the Marvel Studios Panel at D23, Harbour teased a new uniform for the Red Guardian in Thunderbolts. When asked what he was most looking forward to in Marvel's future, Harbour revealed that he has been promised a new suit for Thunderbolts. He expressed his excitement at having a variety of different suits, similar to Captain America (Chris Evans) in the MCU. Check out his statement below:
"I was told I would get a new suit. And I don't want to say the 'F' word, but I am really psyched about that. You watch Captain America and you see him in all of these different movies, and you see him the white star and the black star [on his costume.] I just want a full closet's worth of suits, and I'm well on my way."
The news of the Red Guardian getting a new costume is seemingly backed up by the concept art released alongside the Thunderbolt cast announcement. While the art doesn't necessarily show the exact costume Harbour will wear in Thunderbolts, it does suggest a different design from his costume in Black Widow. A new Red Guardian costume may be especially appealing to Harbour, too, considering there's a bit of a history regarding his character's suit. In fact, in the original Black Widow script, the Red Guardian didn't even have a costume. His retro costume was brought in after rehearsals when various tweaks were added to the script. Even then, though, his old costume became a bit of a running joke in Black Widow as, after years in prison, the Red Guardian wasn't quite able to fit into his old superhero suit.
In Black Widow, the Red Guardian boasted a very comic book-accurate costume, but that doesn't mean he can't get a new one. Just as Harbour said, Captain America had many variations to his suit and, considering that Red Guardian considers himself to be the Russia counterpart to Cap, it makes sense he'd want to rival him in style, too. Additionally, a new suit for the Red Guardian could also signify a fresh start. Like Florence Pugh's Yelena, he doesn't boast a picturesque past, but he did ultimately pull through to help Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) when she needed him. Ultimately, the Red Guardian's new costume in Thunderbolts will be the perfect conclusion to the running gag surrounding his old costume in Black Widow.