Critics and fans alike got to see Thunderbolts* earlier this week, and Marvel Studios has shared a new TV spot packed full of praise for the next MCU movie.
One critic goes so far as to say this is the best Marvel movie since Avengers: Endgame. It's high praise, but exactly the sort of pull quote we'd expect to see used here when Marvel Studios has struggled to recapture that sort of critical and commercial success since 2019.
All signs point to Thunderbolts* being something special, regardless, and in an interview with GamesRadar+, director Jake Schreier revealed that the movie is meant as a fresh start for all of its leads.
"For all of them, we tried to start fresh," the filmmaker explained. "I mean, you could use what they've been through as backstory, but for this movie, even for Bucky, who's been in so many of these, it's like, what's a new challenge, what's a new arc that we can watch that character go through?"
"With Sebastian and with Bucky, it was like, 'Oh, he's already processed a lot of these things that they haven't processed yet,'" Schreier continued. "How could he find a way to help them through that, but also have his own challenges of where he finds his place within this world, and trying to take a different path."
"And then realizing that isn't necessarily the right path for him, and these people that seem so unexpected might be the place where he most belongs?" he added.
We're not surprised to learn that Thunderbolts* will give these characters a refresh, especially when they're expected to be major players heading into Avengers: Doomsday next year.
Bucky's story has been playing out on screen since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. While he finally moved on from his time as a HYDRA assassin in The Falcon and The WInter Soldier, there's clearly still plenty of places to take the hero based on Schreier's remarks.
Check out some new TV spots and posters for Thunderbolts* in the X posts 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?
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 currently set to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.