Thunderbolts* has just revealed its first trailer for the first major look at the MCU answer to the Suicide Squad! Check it out!
The original concept of the Thunderbolts debuted in 1997. At the time, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four were believed dead fighting the monstrous Onslaught when they were really shunted into another dimension. The Thunderbolts were promoted as a brand new team of original heroes coming to fill the gap.
However, in one of the most shocking plot twists in comic book history, the first issue ended with the revelation that the T-Bolts were actually long-time supervillains, the Masters of Evil. They were posing as heroes to gain public and government trust in order to take over the world. However, several of them realized they liked being heroes more than being villains and set out to redeem themselves.
The comic has shifted over the years to become the Marvel Universe’s answer to DC's Suicide Squad, where a mix of villains and anti-heroes work for the government. It appears the upcoming movie will use the same motif and the trailer is an interesting mix of characters.
The film, directed by Jake Schreier, was to debut in July of 2024, only to be among the many films delayed by the 2023 Hollywood strikes. It was shifted to December only for Disney to adjust the entire slate, so the film will now come out next May. The first trailer shows some of the fun to come.
See the Thunderbolts form
The trailer shows the setup as Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), a former Black Widow, reunites with her foster father, the Red Guardian (David Harbour). We also see John Walker (Wyatt Russell), still feeling the disgrace of the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Now US Agent, he and Yelena are brought to a lab to face off with Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and a guy called Bob (Lewis Pullman). He’s replacing Steven Yeun, who bowed out due to scheduling conflicts and appears to be the Sentry, the Marvel Universe’s answer to Superman (albeit with serious mental problems).
Realizing someone wants them all eliminated, the makeshift team is on the run and somehow clashing with the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). We also see Julia Louis-Dreyfus reprising her role as Valentina Allegra De Fontaine, who’s hinted at orchestrating this team coming together.
There’s plenty of action and fights, although there's no hint to the main plot or what threat the T-Bolts face. There’s also a mystery as to why the title contains an asterisk next to it.
There’s likely more news to come, but this trailer is the first hint of a new direction of action for the MCU that will hopefully get it back on track.
Thunderbolts* premieres in theaters May 2, 2025.