Thunderbolts* opened to overwhelmingly positive reviews in May, but only managed to gross $381 million at the worldwide box office. So, where did it all go wrong for the MCU's *New Avengers?
Marvel Studios cleverly marketed Thunderbolts* as a superhero movie with indie credentials. However, at a time when moviegoers will only turn up for event-level superhero films, that and a cast of characters from streaming wasn't enough to convince people to buy a ticket.
It's a shame, too, because Thunderbolts* featured the biggest tease for Avengers: Doomsday yet, with a lengthy post-credits scene directed by the Russo Brothers. Now, that's been released online, offering an HD look at the team's new costumes, the updated Avengers Tower, and the arrival of the Fantastic Four's ship.
Is Marvel's First Family aboard? What's brought the team to Earth-616? These are questions the Russos will answer in Avengers: Doomsday, as this is a very specific scene that clearly feeds into the upcoming movie's narrative.
The same arguably can't be said for Captain America: Brave New World's frustratingly vague stinger featuring a conversation between Sam Wilson and The Leader, which didn't appear to have any real meaning.
Thunderbolts*'s post-credits scene was shot with Jake Schreier on set "to make sure it was honest to where our characters were," he recently explained. "[We’re] giving them over to this whole new world and new scope, and [we] want them to function in that way."
Being there on set was "very fun to watch your buddies go on to this grander scale...and see them directed in another context and on a different level of scope than we had been treating it," the filmmaker added.
Check out Thunderbolts*'s post-credits scene below.
In Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes - Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?
"Thunderbolts* redefines superhero storytelling to deliver a moving and powerful story that does for the 'Multiverse Saga' what The Avengers did for the 'Infinity Saga' in 2012," we said in our review. "These heroes have earned their place on a Wheaties box."
The cast of Thunderbolts* will be led by Florence Pugh as Yelena Boleva, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Lewis Pullman as "Bob."
Written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo, and directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* is now available on Digital, ahead of its 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD release on July 29.