Move aside, Captain America! The Thunderbolts have assembled.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has made its final play with two strong aces in their deck: Daredevil and the Fantastic Four. With the two fan-favorite IPs rebuilding the MCU’s fallen reputation, a squad of mercenary and expendable anti-heroes called the Thunderbolts take center stage to deliver a Suicide Squad-like story of retribution and pulpy action extravaganza.
However, an ensemble story is hardly ever effective without a core character being sacrificed to motivate the rest of the team midway through the movie. Now, one Thunderbolts* star’s comments about the film have made the fans grow wary about their favorite character’s fate in the final Phase Five movie.
Thunderbolts* raises the stakes for its anti-heroes
With a name like Thunderbolts*, one wonders why Marvel did not come up with the idea of banding together anti-heroes and calling them Thunderbolts sooner in their MCU timeline. The post-Endgame lineup has been consistently dull and disappointing, apart from 3 or 4 shows and movies in Phases Four and Five. Now, Thunderbolts* is set to rectify that record with their team-up film.
However, for all of the expectations that the broader MCU fandom has already set up in the days leading up to the Thunderbolts* premiere, it looks like the film may not match the fan expectations in a major way. According to David Harbour, who played Red Guardian in Black Widow, the film is not even that integral to the primary MCU timeline.
In an interview with Empire Magazine, Harbour claimed (via Twitter/X):
There’s such freedom to this. We can sort of do anything because we have no expectations. Any of us can die at any moment. We’re not necessary to the MCU in a big way.
Harbour’s comments, although not very optimistic, do shine a little light on what’s in store for our Thunderbolts anti-hero squad. Sebastian Stan‘s Bucky, Florence Pugh‘s Yelena, and Wyatt Russell‘s John Walker are already too precious to the MCU lineup and not worth sacrificing in a movie such as this. As such, it seems that Olga Kurylenko‘s Taskmaster and Harbour’s Red Guardian may be the only characters whose fates may be in peril.
If, in fact, Harbour’s loud, flamboyant, and beloved character gets sacrificed midway through the movie, it will at least serve as a catalyst for the rest of the heroes to put aside their squabbles and band together to avenge their fallen comrade.
In the meantime, while this may be a good idea to keep the Thunderbolts* characters detached from the overarching Marvel universe (like Joker and The Batman in DC), it could also go horribly awry and lead to a Foxverse-level confusion within the MCU. But for now, we can only wait to see what Marvel has in store for its fans.
Thunderbolts* stumbles its way to the finish line
With a troubled production and two Hollywood strikes underlining the making of Thunderbolts*, it’s a surprise that the movie even got made in the first place. Considering Marvel’s recent track record, especially with the doomed Captain America 4 movie, hope is dwindling for MCU’s first real anti-hero squad movie.
Nevertheless, it would be ignorant to claim that there’s little anticipation for Marvel’s next flick. Considering that Disney is finally leaning toward that dark, violent theme with a star-studded cast of Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, and David Harbour, not all hope is yet lost. With that being said, Thunderbolts* has recently surprised the Marvel community with an A24-style trailer edit that proves humor is not yet dead in the comic book movie industry.
Although it doesn’t say much in terms of the movie itself, anything above average is enough to rouse the long-dormant MCU fans into a state of frenzied excitement. The premise of Thunderbolts* follows the same old Marvel formula. But considering how it is the first film since Avengers: Endgame that shows any form of heroes banding together to save the day, Thunderbolts* may yet carry a fraction of the hype that once defined the MCU fandom.
Thunderbolts*, the final film in MCU’s Phase Five, will premiere on 2 May 2025.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
