The MCU just can't be stopped! Just when we thought we had a good grasp on all the various superheroes and villains spawned by Stan Lee's creative genius, there appears to be more. In Marvel Comics history, Thunderbolts was a series that started off selling fans on the idea of a new 1990s superhero squad — only to pull the surprise twist that it was actually a team of villains posing as heroes. Over the years, that concept evolved into everything from villains posing as heroes to villains trying to find redemption as heroes.
DC's recent Suicide Squad "redo" film was quite successful, and David Ayer's original film has also been in the news this year amid talks of possibly releasing a new version. It's no surprise, therefore, that the Thunderbolts — arguably Marvel's own version of the Suicide Squad — was just relaunched this year on the comics front. The latest premise depicts the Thunderbolts serving as the only government-sanctioned superhero team operating, with Hawkeye leading an eclectic team that is both an Avengers-style hero squad and public relations campaign. Here's a closer look at what we know about the Thunderbolts to date.
History Behind The Thunderbolts
The Thunderbolts first appeared in The Incredible Hulk in 1997, and were presented as a group of super-powered figures who became heroes to help protect the world when the Avengers were declared dead. The final page of the first issue of their comic book, however, revealed that the Thunderbolts were actually the Masters of Evil in disguise, a surprise twist carefully guarded by Marvel.
In subsequent storylines, the group rejects their leader Baron Helmut Zemo and attempts to become heroes in their own right, eventually under the leadership of the Avenger Hawkeye. Themes of redemption and the nature of heroism are often featured in Thunderbolts comics.
Thunderbolts: Bad Guys Or Good Guys?
The Thunderbolts' complicated history brings us to the ultimate question: Good or bad? At the end of the day, let's just say we'll root for them. The lineup has often changed during the Thunderbolts’ 25-year lifespan as a Marvel comic, with members ranging from Avengers that have lost the faith (Hawkeye) to supervillains looking to make amends for a life of crime (Ghost). The general consensus is that the group is principally reformed supervillains and morally ambiguous heroes, so it's almost certain that their future on-screen presence in the MCU will suggest we want them to win whichever fight it is they're involved in...
The Future of The Thunderbolts
This brings us to the final question: When will we see the Thunderbolts on the big screen? Well, for starters, the cast has been officially revealed. As part of Marvel Studios' big presentation at D23 Expo 2022, the ensemble of actors coming together to play the squad was certainly a headlining event earlier this year. One could argue that the Guardians of the Galaxy ragtag team introduced in the last decade has served as a nice segue from the "good guy" Avengers lineup to a darker squad — AKA the Thunderbolts. Here's the cast we know so far — some of whom we recognize from past MCU film and TV installments: Sebastian Stan as The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes; Florence Pugh as Black Widow/Yelena Belova; David Harbour as Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov; Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent/John Walker; Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster/Antonia Dreykov; and Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost.
.Jake Schreier (Paper Towns) is confirmed to be directing the film, according to Deadline, while Eric Pearson (Black Widow) is confirmed to be the writer. Schreier, who has directed Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar music videos, broke onto the scene with his 2013 Sundance hit Robot & Frank. He has also directed episodes of FX’s hit show Dave.
Other than the core cast, not much is known about the plot except that it revolves around a group of villains who are sent on missions commissioned by the government. The Thunderbolts will mark the end of MCU Phase 5, before Phase 6 kicks off with Marvel's Fantastic Four reboot. The film certainly seems like a golden opportunity to blend several iterations of the comics and kick off something dark, fresh and different. If all goes to plan, Thunderbolts will hit theaters on July 26, 2024.