A new international poster for Thunderbolts* has been released, giving us another look at the movie's team of mismatched antiheroes getting along like a house on fire.
The one-sheet also reveals that the movie is set to hit theaters in China a couple of days earlier than the U.S. on April 30... but it might just be the last MCU film to secure a release in the region for quite a while.
Though nothing has been confirmed, a new report from Bloomberg notes that at least two major Chinese media outlets have posted an identical set of measures that authorities are said to be considering as a means to hit back at the latest tariff threats from President Donald Trump, including levies on American farm goods and a ban on Hollywood movies.
The possible measures, attributed to "unidentified people familiar with the matter," are as follows:
Suspending China-US cooperation on fentanyl-related issues
“Significantly” increasing tariffs on US agricultural products, such as soybeans and sorghum
Banning the import of US poultry
Imposing curbs on US services with China
Reducing or banning the import of US films
Investigating the intellectual property benefits of US companies operating in China
Again, we don't know if these measures are seriously being considered, but it's been well documented that China has pledged to retaliate after Trump vowed to slap additional 50% import taxes on the country. If some kind of ban is implemented, it could obviously impact Marvel Studios' international box office takings in a major way.
We recently got confirmation that the next MCU movie has a fairly standard runtime of 2 hours, 6 minutes, and updated box office estimates predict that Thunderbolts* will take in between $65M-$85M domestically over the course of its opening weekend.
This wouldn't be a bad result for a movie with a (relatively) modest budget of $180M (minus additional costs), especially when you take into account that Thunderbolts* is a fairly obscure property without any major A-list stars (Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan are by far the biggest names).
The main cast of the movie (minus Olga Kurylenko) were confirmed to return for Avengers: Doomsday during Marvel's recent live-stream.
Marvel Studios recently announced the exciting news that Son Lux will be scoring Thunderbolts*. The three-member, American experimental band was Oscar and BAFTA- nominated for their score for 2022’s best picture, Everything Everywhere All at Once.
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?
Returning to their Marvel Cinematic Universe roles are Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Hannah John-Kamen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The cast also includes newcomers to the MCU—Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer and Wendell Edward Pierce.
Jake Schreier directs Thunderbolts* with Kevin Feige producing. Louis D’Esposito, Brian Chapek and Jason Tamez serve as executive producers.
Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* opens in U.S. theaters on May 2, 2025.