At this year’s D23 Expo, Kevin Feige and the company showcased a tonne of thrilling footage and made several significant announcements. The official lineup for the squad shown in “Thunderbolts” was one of the panel’s biggest disclosures.
Marvel is being compared to “The Suicide Squad” in the Phase Five finale, which was penned by “Black Widow” writer Eric Pearson and directed by “Robot & Frank” director Jake Schreier. The Thunderbolts are a group of outlaws who dabble in superheroism, just like DC’s reluctant gang of criminals. However, they first served as a cover for the Masters of Evil to appear as heroes at a period when it was believed that the Avengers had perished. In the end, the team was composed of former villains who had turned to good and other individuals seeking atonement, rather than actual villains. And it appears that’s the version that will appear in the MCU.
We are aware of every player who will be on the roster of this inaugural club thanks to /Film’s Ethan Anderton, who is on location at D23. For True Believers, we’ll go through the list and refresh your memory so you can be familiar with these heavy hitters before they make their big-screen debut together. After all, without a program, how can you know who the players are? Here is the starting lineup for your real-life Thunderbolts, without further ado!
Cold Soldier
James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes is at the top of the list of characters seeking forgiveness in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Arnim Zola brainwashed Captain America’s old friend, who was thereafter used as the most effective HYDRA assassin in the 20th century. Barnes was able to escape the HYDRA’s hold on him thanks to his friend Steve Rogers, who also helped him atone for all the heinous crimes he performed while he was under their control. There are varied degrees of success with his atonement, as we witnessed in “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” The Winter Soldier can continue on his path of atonement and accomplish good in the world, though, with Sebastian Stan slated to reprise his role in “Thunderbolts.”
‘THE MARVELS’ focuses on the 3 heroes as they keep trading places with each other every time they use their powers and must team up to fix their problem. #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/ytGepfQucN
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 10, 2022
US Agent
The American government selected John Walker of the 75th Rangers Regiment of the United States Army to take over as Captain America in the 2021 Disney+ series “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” after Steve Rogers “retired” in “Avengers: Endgame.”
Walker, played by Wyatt Russell of “22 Jump Street” and “Everybody Wants Some” fame, and Lemar Hoskins AKA Battlestar pursued Karli Morgenthau and the Flag Smashers. Walker, however, took the final dose of Wilfred Nagel’s Super Soldier Serum to give him the edge he believed he needed to completely embody the role of the new Captain America when the stress of living up to the mantle’s legacy began to get to him. However, once his companion was killed in the field, Walker turned to a much more violent method of carrying out his job. As a result, Walker savagely murdered a foreigner who was surrendering in front of a large crowd.
Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine approached the disgraced hero with the new pseudonym U.S. Agent and a new assignment, which we now know to be the Thunderbolts after he had lost his rank and been discharged from the army by the end of the series.
Allegra Valentina de Fontaine
The Julia Louis-Dreyfus figure is effectively the successor to Nick Fury, albeit nothing is known about her. A group that is interested in superhuman talents employs the enigmatic woman known as the Contessa. She enlisted John Walker in her mission and gave him the moniker “U.S. Agent,” as we saw in “Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” Later, she appeared with Yelena Belova in “Black Widow” on a predetermined day. At Natasha Romanoff’s grave, De Fontaine reconnected with the former Red Room agent and gave Yelena a new assignment. Clint Barton was identified as the target, and this discussion launched us directly into “Hawkeyeevents. “She then probably leaves to find the other people on this list to join her growing squad.
Belova, Yelena
Belova joining the Thunderbolts makes sense given that she was Contessa’s second recruit. After her sister’s passing, Florence Pugh’s superspy from around the world is probably going to assume the role of Black Widow. And even though many had hoped that she would follow Natasha Romanoff by teaming up with a partner named Hawkeye, it’s still possible for her to do all of the above as the Multiverse Saga develops because Yelena and Kate Bishop grew close after the events of Bishop and Barton’s most recent Disney+ show.
She hopes she’ll have time to catch up with her old pal over some mac and cheese with spicy sauce despite all of her new duties as the Thunderbolts’ captain. Her leadership abilities for this squad, however, go beyond only her ability to cook. Yelena is attempting to move over her past as a brainwashed assassin, but when the situation demands it, she can still be a cold-blooded killer trained by the Red Room.
Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko and David Harbour all return for ‘THUNDERBOLTS’. #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/Cb8JT7Vqd8
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 10, 2022
Red Defender
Since Alexei Shostakov, called the Red Guardian, will be a teammate together with Pugh’s Belova, she is likely to put in a good word for the following recruit. The red-clad shield-wielding character was the Soviet Armed Forces’ equivalent of Captain America, and he was portrayed by “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour. The Russian super soldier was sent deep undercover after the fall of the Soviet Union to pass for an American family man in order to infiltrate and take out a HYDRA-controlled division of S.H.I.E.L.D. He succeeded in his mission, but afterward, he was imprisoned until his Black Widow daughters were able to set him free years later. Although it’s unknown what he’s been up to since the events of “Black Widow,” “Thunderbolts” is almost surely going to reveal it.
Taskmaster
The Thunderbolts will also feature a character from Black Widow’s background in addition to Yelena and Alexei. The following team member is Taskmaster, a fellow Red Room operative. Antonia Dreykov, played by Olga Kurylenko, was liberated from mind control by the Red Dust that also freed the other Black Widows. Crispin Freeman provided the voice augmentation, while Andy Lister wore the outfit. She escaped the events of “Black Widow” to begin rebuilding her life as she was no longer bound by her father or the Red Room as a whole. She will, however, undoubtedly be a great addition to this motley crew because of her photographic reflexes, which enable her to emulate the combat style of any adversary.
Ghost
The team’s final member is a native of Scott Lang’s region of the MCU. Hannah John-Kamen will return to the role of Ava Starr aka Ghost, a former stealth officer of S.H.I.E.L.D. who acquired the power to become invisible after becoming involved in a quantum accident that killed her parents, following her debut in “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”
Though Bill Foster made every effort to treat his young ward’s illness, even kidnapping Hank Pym to obtain access to the Quantum Tunnel, it was finally Janet Van Dyne, who had returned, who was able to stabilize Starr’s health with quantum energy. Does this imply that Laurence Fishburne is also a member of the Thunderbolts as the last time we saw Ghost, she was running away with Foster? The future will reveal if he’ll play a part in the movie, but even without Goliath, the Thunderbolts are still quite the lineup.
On July 26, 2024, “Thunderbolts” will be released in theatres.
