Black Widow didn't feel like the most necessary Phase 4 story, but the movie - that took place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War - succeeded in introducing some great new characters. We've since seen Yelena Belova shine in Hawkeye, but it's looking like Thunderbolts will be a near-direct sequel to the blockbuster.
After all, it will feature Yelena, Taskmaster, and Red Guardian, with the latter getting a much-needed costume upgrade for what looks set to be his proper superhero debut after years in captivity.
The Russian Captain America won fans over in a big way in Black Widow, with much of the credit for that going to actor David Harbour. Talking to Total Film, the Stranger Things star shared his excitement for Thunderbolts and getting to put Red Guardian in a team with some big names.
"I really like him," the actor says of his character, "and I love Florence [Pugh] as Yelena [also in Thunderbolts]. And then you throw in Wyatt [Russell, as U.S. Agent] from Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Sebastian [Stan, reprising Bucky Barnes]. You have all these great, colorful characters. I’m really excited for that movie."
As for his hopes for Red Guardian beyond this team-up, Harbour adds, "I love Red Guardian. I can’t wait to pull back the layers. The great thing about him is that he’s not very well-defined in the comics, like some of the other Marvel superheroes. So we can play with him in a different way, and be surprising and unexpected."
What that will look like remains to be seen, though we can't imagine his story will end during his first proper team-up! Habour clearly wants to revisit this character again and again, and that leaves the door open to a lot of different stories in the MCU.
Very little is known about Thunderbolts, of course, and what leads to them assembling remains a mystery. If theories they'll be facing off with Red Hulk are correct, however, Red Guardian might find he has his work cut out for him even with some new friends by his side.
Thunderbolts is set to be released in theaters on July 26, 2024.