When Marvel Studios finally announced Thunderbolts, fans were thrilled by the news. Unfortunately, the roster of characters chosen has proven to be a tad divisive (and, dare we saw it, underwhelming).
With a team consisting of Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, U.S. Agent, Ghost, and Taskmaster, they're mostly Super Soldiers, meaning the group lacks variety and many of the heroes/villains who feature in the Thunderbolts comic books. As a result, the movie now feels more like a sequel to Black Widow and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier than a true debut for the team many of you know and love from the source material.
Despite that, we'd be lying to say it's not shaping up to be an exciting project, though it was recently reported that production on both Thunderbolts and Wonder Man has been paused "indefinitely" to the ongoing WGA strike.
Unfortunately, star David Harbour has confirmed that's the case in a recent social media post.
Like many Marvel Studios movies, we're guessing cameras were going to start rolling without an entirely finished screenplay in place. With writers not allowed to work on films and TV shows during the strike, there was likely no way to begin production when the story probably isn't where it needs to be.
With any luck, this won't lead to a release date delay. We are, however, anticipating some big changes to the Phase 5 slate at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.
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, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, and Steven Yeun in a mystery role.
Written by Eric Pearson and directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts is currently set to be released in theaters on July 26, 2024.