Thunderbolts has finally started shooting, and some rumoured new details have found their way online today. It's no secret the movie has gone through multiple rewrites (and even lost one of its leads), but should we be worried?
Probably not, especially as the delays were primarily caused by last year's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Still, Thunderbolts appears to have been a tough nut to crack for Marvel Studios and these latest updates may prove divisive.
According to scooper @CanWeGetToast, neither President "Thunderbolt" Ross nor Tiamut (two key Captain America: Brave New World elements) will factor into Thunderbolts, despite previous claims to the contrary.
That means this team won't include Harrison Ford's Red Hulk either as a Thunderbolt or even the inspiration behind the group's moniker. Instead, the Thunderbolts are supposedly named after Yelena Belova's childhood soccer team, presumably as a gag of some sort.
Daniel Richtman has also chimed in, revealing that Bucky Barnes is not Thunderbolts' co-lead with Yelena. In fact, U.S. Agent has a bigger role than Captain America's former sidekick and, in terms of priority in the story, it sounds like the new Black Widow and The Senry will be front and centre along with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and, believe it or not, Ghost.
There's nothing too alarming here but Thunderbolts may be a much different movie than many fans expect. There have already been rumblings about these characters being sent on a suicide mission, so we're not expecting everyone to make it out alive.
If someone like Bucky is quickly obliterated by The Sentry, for example, the backlash will be sizeable. However, with Avengers: Secret Wars set to reboot the MCU, we anticipate saying goodbye to a lot of fan-favourites in the next few years.
Thunderbolts' confirmed cast members include Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, 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, and Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster.
Recently, Geraldine Viswanathan replaced Ayo Edebiri in an undisclosed role, while Lewis Pullman has taken over as The Sentry following Steve Yeun's shock departure from the movie. Both he and Edebiri are said to have left due to scheduling issues.
Written by Eric Pearson and Lee Sung Jin, and directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts is currently set to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025. As always, stay tuned for updates on this one as they continue to roll in.