U.S. Agent aka John Walker actor Wyatt Russell is confident that director Jake Schreier will be able to elevate Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts above and beyond the typical comic book movie film.
Russell and Schreier have experience working together at earlier points in their careers, on the 2018 AMC comedy-drama, Lodge 49. Schreier was an episode director on the series, which ran for two seasons.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about Monarch: Legacy of Monster, Russell also touched on Thunderbolts, confirming that he expects cameras to start rolling on the MCU Phase 5 film in March/April 2024.
Said Russell, "... Jake Schreier is the [Thunderbolts] director, and we worked together on six episodes of [Lodge 49]. So it just feels like we’re going for something that has depth and something interesting to theorize about beyond just flying around and doing superhero stuff."
"That’s awesome and cool, and it’ll be in there, too, obviously, but I’m hoping to do what we’ve done with [Monarch: Legacy of Monsters]. There’s a human element to this and those characters. They’re hard stories to write and do, but if you work hard enough and you really put your heart and soul into it, you can always make them great."
"So I’m really looking forward to working hard and having a blast. They’re so fun when you let them be fun, and I could not be more excited."
Rusell's comments also track with previous statements from Red Guardian actor David Harbour, who also hinted that the film will be more character-driven.
If Disney doesn't shuffle release dates any further, Thunderbolts will premiere in theaters on July 25, 2025, in-between Fantastic Four (May 2, 2025) and Blade (November 7, 2025). Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 1, 2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (May 7, 2027) mark the conclusion of Phase 6 of the Multiverse Saga.
Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) are confirmed Thunderbolts members. Steven Yeun has also been identified as playing The Sentry in the film thanks to leaks.
Ayo Edebiri has an unspecified role, and Harrison Ford's Thunderbolt Ross is set to appear.
The project reunites the creative team behind Netflix's Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated drama Beef, with Schreier directing from a script co-written by the series' creator, Sung "Sonny" Jin Lee. Sonny revised a script previously written by Black Widow screenwriter Eric Pearson.