Thunderbolts* is coming to theaters soon as part of the upcoming Marvel movie schedule – and this is what we know so far.
When it comes to superhero teams in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are several that I always think of off the top of my head. Obviously, we have the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, or even the Fantastic Four – the latter of which is set to get a new film adaptation in 2025.
But now, Marvel is spicing things up a bit and introducing the first ever antihero team into the MCU with its upcoming Marvel movies, and those are the Thunderbolts*. The new movie, which is a part of Phase 5 of the MCU, is set to feature interesting characters that we are going to see team up. But when is this film going to come out? And who is going to star? Here is what you should know about Thunderbolts*.
What Is The Thunderbolts Release Date?
As of July 2024, Thunderbolts* has a release of May 5, 2025, according to Deadline. It will be released as part of the 2025 movie release schedule. Originally, Thunderbolts* was set to come out in 2024 as part of Phase 5 of the MCU, but Disney (who owns Marvel) announced in June 2023 that several of their titles have been pushed back, including Thunderbolts*. It was later set to come out in July 2025 but was pushed up.
It’s a shame it won’t be on any 2024 movie release schedule, but at least we have 2025 to look forward to.
The Thunderbolts* Cast
If you were wondering exactly who is going to star in Thunderbolts*, look no further than right here. Announced at the 2022 D23 Expo, Kevin Feige brought the main cast to the stage to share exactly who is going to be a part of the lineup of antiheroes for Thunderbolts*.
Florence Pugh Yelena Belova
Florence Pugh originally played Yelena in Black Widow, and also had a recurring guest role in Hawkeye.
Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier
Sebastian Stan last played the Winter Soldier – a.k.a. Bucky Barnes – in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in 2021.
David Harbour as the Red Guardian
David Harbour played the Red Guardian in Black Widow alongside Florence Pugh.
Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster
Olga Kurylenko also appeared for the first time in Black Widow, alongside Pugh and Harbour, as the main villain, Taskmaster.
Wyatt Russell as US Agent
Wyatt Russell made waves as US Agent in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier cast, as it was debut in the role.
Hanna John Kamen as Ghost
Ghost first appeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and this will be her first time coming back to the MCU since her 2014 appearance.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra
Also included in the line-up is the wonderful Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who we saw in both The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow.
Talk about a stacked cast. Feige spoke about the bunch at the D23 reveal in 2022, via Entertainment Weekly, saying that all of the characters have their own issues and it’s going to be a wild ride to watch this film with all of these anti-heroes coming together:
It tells you a lot about the team when beloved Winter Soldier is the most stable among them.
Harrison Ford as General Ross
Confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, it was announced that Harrison Ford has signed on for both Captain America 4 and Thunderbolts* to play General Ross, as the actor from before, William Hurt, sadly passed away. Ford will first appear as Ross in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World, which is releasing in February 2025.
Geraldine Viswanathan
Originally, Ayo Edebiri was set to have a role in Thunderbolts*, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, according to Deadline in January 2024, but she has since been replaced by Geraldine Viswanathan. The actress is primarily known for her role on Miracle Workers.
Lewis Pullman
In a similar situation, Lewis Pullman has also stepped up to replace Steven Yeun, who also dropped out of Thunderbolts* due to scheduling conflicts, according to Deadline. He’s appeared in Top Gun: Maverick, Outer Range and more.
Talk about a stacked cast – and one I can’t wait to see kill it.
What Thunderbolts* Will Be About
Thunderbolts* is a little under a year away, but plot details for the film are quite scarce, as is tradition with many Marvel films. However, according to Deadline, it’s been confirmed that the general story of Thunderbolts* is about the antihero team being given assignments by the government, and it’s their job to fulfill them.
Is it vague as heck? Yeah, but what can you really expect from the studio that somehow tried to keep the reveal that all three versions of Spider-Man would reunite in the fan-favorite, Spider-Man: No Way Home? They really try to keep their plots on the down-low.
Wyatt Russell (US Agent) has talked about the upcoming movie, though, and in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in November 2023, he said that the film is different and not as “straightforward” as other Marvel movies:
The story that I think they’ve come up with is really interesting — I know parts of the story and how the story works, I can’t talk about it. But it’s not a straightforward Marvel movie as you’ve seen in the past. I think that it’s gonna be a lot of fun but I think it will be something that hopefully Marvel fans will look at and go, ‘Oh OK, this is a little different, let’s go hard at it.’ And as far as how we are approaching it, it’s time to go to work a little bit, it’s time to make a good Marvel movie, so let’s do that and work hard at it and don’t take things for granted.
The director also confirmed this in an interview with Collider in August 2023, saying that the movie takes a “different approach” than most other Marvel movies:
It was just a really different approach and a new kind of story to tell amidst that, which I know they’ve made so many things, but it's not a sequel. Yes, these characters have appeared before, but it is a new story being told and a story, I think, with a very different perspective than maybe people aren't expecting, and I think that that felt exciting and felt like a real challenge worth taking on.
I’m just so excited now.
The Movie Will Be Directed By Jake Schreier
Another piece of info that was announced at the D23 Expo in 2022 was that Jake Schreier is the director of Thunderbolts*.
While Schreier has never worked on any Marvel projects before, he’s done plenty of work in the industry, and has directed films such as Paper Towns and Robot & Frank, with plenty of work in television, too – such as Beef, the critically acclaimed television show on Netflix, and other shows as well like Minx, The Premise, Kidding and more.
Filming Wrapped In June 2024
It feels like we’ve been waiting years to hear some sort of news about filming for Thunderbolts*, but Variety confirmed in an interview with Sebastian Stan in January 2024 that filming would begin “basically in a month or so.” Now, months later, we can confirm that it’s officially wrapped. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss confirmed the news in an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in June 2024, saying they had wrapped it a week prior to the interview.
David Harbour also confirmed the news on an Instagram post in June 2024, saying that he loved making the movie and he “loved the ‘bolts:’
So now that filming is wrapped, I am just dying for a trailer. Who thinks we’ll get one before Captain America: Brave New World?
Thunderbolts* may be a little under a year away, but at the very least, we’ll have time to theorize and see what happens now, as other Marvel movies and shows come out beforehand. I’m eager to hear more about this team as time goes on.
