Thunderbolts has been a victim of the Hollywood strikes, losing its original December 2024 release date and slipping down the release calendar to July 25, 2025.
On the plus side, it's allowed Marvel Studios to refine the long-awaited project which will assemble Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, Wyatt Russell's U.S. Agent, Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, David Harbour's Alexei Shostakov, Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost, Olga Kurylenko's Taskmaster, and Steven Yeun's Sentry. As for who sends them into battle, that will be the MCU's new "Nick Fury," C.I.A. Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus).
Despite featuring a team primarily made up of characters from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Black Widow, there's a lot of excitement for the movie. Speculation is also running rampant that the team will get its name from Captain America: Brave New World's President "Thunderbolt" Ross.
Plus, given the character's history with the team on the page, Daniel Bruhl's Baron Zemo has to be in it, right?
"Daniel is not going to be it, [but] he could play a part in it," Russell recently told The Playlist. "I don’t know. I haven’t read a script yet, but as of now, I’m not sure."
As for a possible Red Hulk appearance, the actor added, "Harrison’s in Captain America 4, I think. I don’t know, I haven’t read a script, so I don’t know who exactly who’s in it. I know Florence is in it, I know Sebastian’s in it. I know David Harbour is going to be in it. David Harbour is another guy who’s, like, so good. I love everything he does. I love everybody in it so much."
"And the director, [Jake Schreier], who [directed me in HBO’s] 'Lodge 49' or [directed] a lot of 'Lodge 49' - I feel very, very lucky. I hope it ends up being as good as I feel lucky. And yeah, I’m really excited."
So, they might be in or they might not. Wyatt, however, is just excited to share the screen with his fellow MCU actors. "Florence Pugh is so good, man - she’s one of the best actresses that there are right now. And Sebastian Stan, one of the better actors that there are right now."
We're intrigued to see what shape Thunderbolts takes and whether it can do its lead characters justice. This is an Avengers-sized cast and Schreier's biggest project to date, but all the ingredients are there for one of the Multiverse Saga's best movies.
Are you excited to check out Thunderbolts in theaters a couple of years from now?