We haven't seen Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, since the Disney+ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series (and on the big screen since Avengers: Endgame), but the former assassin is set to make his long-awaited return to the MCU in the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie.
It seems actor Sebastian Stan feels that this group is a better fit for his character than the Avengers.
"It's always been fun for me to come back to him after all these years because you're growing as a person, and then the character ends up growing," Stan tells Total Film.
"I never would have thought we would have ended up where we have with him, but it's a very interesting group of characters, and they all bring out different sides of themselves," he continues. "I think [Bucky] finds himself way more suited to them than initially maybe he wants to admit, but he's always an evolving character, and that's what I love about him. It's always trying to find another way of expressing. I think it'll be fun. I think people will be excited for the movie."
Though Bucky will evidently side with the Thunderbolts at some point, the recent trailer showed the super soldier launching at attack against the other members of the team. Will he be hired to take them down by Val, perhaps?
There are rumors doing the rounds that Barnes will show up for a cameo in Captain America: Brave New World, which would certainly make sense given his history with Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson.
We're still not sure what the addition of that asterisk to the title signifies, but a recent rumor claimed to shed a little more light on the mystery. It could be considered a spoiler, so click here if you want to know more.
Marvel Studios and a crew of indie veterans who sold out present Thunderbolts*, an irreverent team-up featuring depressed assassin Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) alongside the MCU’s least anticipated band of misfits. The film also returns to the screen Marvel Cinematic Universe characters Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), in addition to some exciting new faces.
Jake Schreier directs Thunderbolts*with Kevin Feige producing. Louis D’Esposito, Brian Chapek, Jason Tamez and Scarlett Johansson serve as executive producers. Marvel Studios’
Thunderbolts* opens in U.S. theaters on May 2, 2025.