Thunderbolts* has been a long time coming, though it's not unfair to say that the roster we're getting isn't exactly the one most fans hoped to see.
In place of characters like Baron Zemo, Mach IV, Moonstone, and Songbird are Bucky Barnes, U.S. Agent, Yelena Belova, and Red Guardian. So, just think of this movie as being a sequel to The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Black Widow!
The Sentry's presence suggests there's more to Thunderbolts* than just that and we've now rounded up all the biggest rumours, plot leaks, and spoilers in one place. From why this team assembles to plans for Robert Reynolds and links to the wider MCU, there's a lot here to delve into.
To learn more about Marvel Studios' plans for the 2025 movie, click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
7. The Sentry's Creator
We first met Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier when she enlisted John Walker to be her U.S. Agent. Since then, the MCU's new Nick Fury has sent Yelena Belova to take down Hawkeye and attempted to get her hands on Wakanda's Vibranium.
In Thunderbolts*, the CIA Director will have assembled her own squad of super soldiers. However, that's not all she's been up to. Rumour has it the movie's big bad will be a villain created by Val: The Sentry! We're guessing he'll be the ultimate super soldier, only to perhaps become too powerful or need to be kept locked up because Robert Reynolds wasn't the intended recipient of the serum.
It sounds like there will come a point when Val's status as the movie's true villain is revealed, but what exactly does she want? Well, being in charge of the CIA isn't enough for her, and we'll get to what she really wants a little later...
6. Scrapped Crossover Plans
Captain America: Brave New World is expected to finally touch on the massive Celestial sticking out of the Indian Ocean. While you'd think that and Thunderbolts* would link up somehow, it seems that won't be the case after all.
Last we heard, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is no longer set to appear in the next Captain America movie (a cameo was once on the table). It doesn't even look like the Thunderbolts team will named after President "Thunderbolt" Ross, despite how obvious a connection that seems on paper.
There have even been claims about the group serving as MCU's take on the Suicide Squad, with Val assembling them to take down The Sentry and a lot of casualties following. One likely contender to meet their maker if the rumour mill is to be believed? Bucky Barnes.
5. The Sentry's Role (And The Void)
The Sentry is supposedly going to be part of Val's Thunderbolts team during the first two acts before "something rips him away from them." Could that be The Void? We'd say it's likely.
Whether The Sentry has a future beyond this team-up remains to be seen, but throwing The Void into the mix ensures Thunderbolts has incredibly high stakes.
However, in the MCU, rather than just being the Golden Guardian’s evil doppelgänger, it seems the villain will become an entire realm which the movie’s heroes are forced to travel into. That sounds like the sort of CG-heavy high-stakes final act we’ve come to expect from Marvel Studios, and it could be there we bid farewell to some of these anti-heroes...
4. Val's Masterplan
Even after she recruited U.S. Agent and sent Yelena Belova after her sister's "killer," Clint Barton, we're no closer to learning what Val's endgame is. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever revealed her status as CIA Director, but there has to be more than that, right?
Well, it's been said she plans to lead the United States in a war against Wakanda. Val desperately wants their Vibranium, likely because she's a fantastic who hopes to make America more powerful than ever (though we still think she reports to a higher power).
This may sound similar to the premise of Wakanda Forever, but in many ways, that movie laid the groundwork for a full-blown war. Thunderbolts* could even lead directly into Black Panther 3, a movie rumoured to adapt the "Doom War" storyline.
3. No Red Hulk
If you expected Captain America: Brave New World to introduce Red Hulk and for Harrison Ford to reprise the role in Thunderbolts* (to fight The Sentry perhaps), then you'll be disappointed when the latter doesn't happen.
While Ross will clash with Sam Wilson next year, he won't be part of this team and might not even be where they get their name. Instead, we've heard Yelena comes up with the "Thunderbolts" moniker as a nod to a soccer team she was on as a child.
Is this a missed opportunity on Marvel's part? It feels like it, though Ross may be able to cover up the fact he Hulked out and continue serving as President...unless the void his transformation causes sees Val set her sights on the White House!
2. O.X.E.
The most recent rumour on this list may actually provide new insights into the "higher power" we mentioned earlier as OXE Group (or O.X.E.) will supposedly factor into Thunderbolts*.
The largest holding company in the World, O.X.E also has ties to the secret Kratos Club, a group of industrial multimillionaires, whose goal is to use their influence to ensure that the right things get done, no matter what. This all sounds pretty politically charged for the MCU!
However, it could make for a compelling reflection of the real world and even start tying into everything from Tony Stark's death to the Department of Damage Control, what happens to the world without the Avengers, and the eventual introduction of the Hellfire Club.
1. A Dark Avengers Movie?
Talking at CinemaCon earlier this year, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed the asterisk in Thunderbolts*' title is significant but won't be something they'll talk about until after the movie's release.
As noted, theories range from the "Thunderbolts" name being an ironic nod to the President after he likely transforms into Red Hulk to the team we've seen in concept art not being the real Thunderbolts (instead, they'd be a decoy team or a Task Force X-like group meant to die in battle).
However, the most compelling theory is that Thunderbolts* ends with the revelation that this team is, in fact, the MCU's Dark Avengers. How better for Val to take control of America, and perhaps the world, than by having a group of easily manipulated Avengers, including The Sentry?