On the one hand, Thunderbolts* looks set to be a pretty direct follow-up to Black Widow and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (those projects and this movie share many of the same characters).
While we expect it to have a lot in common with those, filmmaker Jake Schreier tells Empire Online that when he boarded Thunderbolts*, it came with a very clear directive from Marvel Studios brass: "'Make it something different.'"
So, rather than being a movie boasting the same tone as those grounded titles, it will be its own beast. As Yelena Belova actor Florence Pugh tells the site, "It ended up becoming this quite badass indie, A24-feeling assassin movie with Marvel superheroes."
Schreier acknowledges that, adding: "There’s a certain amount of that Beef tone in it, that does feel different. There’s an emotional darkness that we brought to this that is resonant, but doesn’t come at the expense of comedy."
While the Thunderbolts team may hail from spec ops-inspired corner of the MCU, these "heroes" will find themselves dealing with Marvel Comics' unhinged Superman, The Sentry.
Before we get to that point, though, all signs point to Yelena striking up an unlikely friendship with Bob.
"Bob is going through what all of them are probably, secretly, going through," Pugh explains. "Yelena sees parts of herself in him. She’s always been someone that wants to look after people. She has a sweet spot for him, and essentially likes looking after him because he’s useless. He’s absolutely useless."
Something tells us he'll be a little less useless when he suits up and unleashes The Void.
A new still of Yelena and Bob from Thunderbolts* has also been released by the site. You can take a closer look at that in the X post 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 5, 2025.