By and large, initial social media reactions to most major studio releases tend to be more positive than the full reviews. This is just the nature of the beast, with a much wider range of journalists, critics and influencers invited to share their thoughts immediately after seeing the movie in question.
This isn't always the case, of course, and so far, the critics' verdicts on Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* are almost as glowing as those first reactions.
Though the movie sounds like it has some problems (particularly in the first act), the majority of critics seem to feel that the antihero team-up is Marvel's best effort in quite some time, and succeeds in getting the franchise "back on track."
The entire cast - Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman are mentioned quite a bit as standouts - comes in for praise, as does Marvel's effort to shake up the usual formula a little with a more introspective superhero drama.
We'll have a Rotten Tomatoes score for you a little later on, but for now, have a read through the reviews at the links below.
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 $63 million - $77 million 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.