Yahoo Movies Everything we know about Marvel’s Thunderbolts
Florence Pugh and David Harbour will star in the MCU antihero team-up
Thunderbolts* is one of the most intriguing Marvel movies on the upcoming MCU slate — and yes, that asterisk is intentional, apparently. First announced in June 2022, the project has been shrouded in mystery but fans of the comics will know it will unite some of Marvel's best anti-heroes on screen for the first time.
But when should MCU fans be expecting the Thunderbolts* movie, who exactly will be in this rag-tag team of crimefighters, and what will they be doing? Keep calm, because here's everything you need to know before Thunderbolts comes storming onto the big screen.
When will Thunderbolts* be released?
Marvel’s Thunderbolts* will be released in UK cinemas on Friday, 2 May 2025, and will later be available to stream on Disney+. The film was originally due to arrive in July 2024 before being delayed twice due to the Hollywood strikes.
The film is set to conclude Phase Five of Marvel’s movie roadmap. Filming took place in Atlanta, Georgia in early 2024.
Is there a trailer for Thunderbolts*?
Marvel released our first proper look at Thunderbolts* in September 2024. This first trailer featured explosions, emotional meandering and Bucky Barnes’ robotic arm in the dishwasher — so safe to say it whet the appetite for what Disney has in store for this villainous opposite-Avengers story. Watch it below.
Who is in the Thunderbolts* cast?
Kevin Feige and the hierarchy of the MCU are pulling no punches when it comes to the cast for the Thunderbolts team, starring a who’s-who of Marvel fan favourites.
Florence Pugh will be reprising her role as Yelena Belova alongside Black Widow co-star David Harbour who will be returning as Alexei Shostakov a.k.a Red Guardian. Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster will also return from the opening film of Phase 4, in what we can only hope is a larger role for such an interesting character.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier stars Sebastian Stan and Wyatt Russell will reprise their roles as Bucky Barnes and US Agent John Walker, respectively. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Feige referred to Bucky as the “de facto leader” for the group.
Read more: Every upcoming MCU movie
Hannah John-Kamen also returns after her outing in Ant-Man and the Wasp, flitting back onto our screens as Ghost/Ava Starr.
Pulling the strings for the team will be the enigmatic Val, played by the delightful Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who as we saw in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is now the Director of the CIA.
Harrison Ford will be making his second MCU appearance as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, following his debut in Captain America: Brave New World.
The Indiana Jones and Star Wars star is replacing William Hurt following his passing in March 2022. Hurt first appeared as Ross way back in 2008, when Edward Norton played our favourite green rage monster in The Incredible Hulk, but by Brave New World he has risen to the rank of President of the United States of America.
Previous MCU actors Lawrence Fishbrune and Rachel Weisz are also expected to return as Bill Foster and Melina Vostokoff.
Top Gun: Maverick star Lewis Pullman will play Sentry. He took over the role from Nope actor Steven Yeun, who dropped due to scheduling conflicts caused by the 2023 Hollywood strikes.
Ayo Edebiri, star of hit kitchen-drama The Bear, also left the film in early 2024 due to scheduling issues. Blockers and Miracle Workers star Geraldine Viswanathan will be taking her place — but the role itself remains undisclosed.
Who is making Thunderbolts*?
Behind the scenes, Thunderbolts* will be directed by Jake Schreier, who previously helmed Paper Towns starring Cara Delevingne and directed episodes of Netflix’s hit series Beef.
Initial drafts of the script were penned by Eric Pearson, a veteran within the MCU, having written the Black Widow screenplay, as well as Thor: Ragnarok alongside Craig Kyle and Christopher L. Yost. Beef creator Lee Sung Jin later took on the job of rewriting the script after being brought onboard by Schreier.
As for the asterisks in the movie’s title? Marvel boss Feige was quizzed about this during the movie’s appearance at 2024’s Comic-Con and said that it is intentional... but that we’d have to wait until the film drops to find out why.
What is the plot of Thunderbolts*?
Very little is known about the plot of Thunderbolts* so far. We have the briefest of synopses to go on, with the film being described as “a group of antiheroes goes on missions for the government.”
Based on that, we could expect Thunderbolts to be akin to DC’s Suicide Squad (you can choose which iteration comes to mind), but without explosive implants in our protagonist’s craniums. Given the proximity between Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World, along with the overlapping cast, there’s a good chance that the plots might tie together.
Still, new information is surfacing all the time. In August 2023, the movie’s director teased that Thunderbolt’s plot hopes to shake things up in the MCU — but he was curiously tight-lipped when it came to divulging more information.
He told IGN that the film is “a very new take on who [the characters] are and what brings them together. Probably not what people are expecting from it, but I guess I can’t really say more than that.” Meanwhile, Russell told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2023 that “it’s not a straightforward Marvel movie as you’ve seen in the past” and is “a little different.”
Marvel’s Thunderbolts* will be released in cinemas on Friday, 2 May 2025.
