The 'Thunderbolts' Trailer Promises Anti-Heroics from the MCU's Best B-Villains

By Nate Parker | Film | September 23, 2024 |

By Nate Parker | Film | September 23, 2024 |

It’s no secret I suffer from Marvel fatigue. So far, it’s kept me away from the latest Ant-Man, Echo, and the second season of Loki. But Deadpool & Wolverine was a breath of fresh air and rekindled my interest in some of the MCU’s properties. Today’s teaser for Thunderbolts reinforces that interest.

For those who don’t know, the Thunderbolts were originally a team of “reformed” supervillains led by Baron Zemo. He formed the team after Onslaught—the psychic hate-f*ck lovechild of Magneto and Professor X—seemingly wiped out the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and most non-mutant superheroes. Zemo’s plans were foiled, and the team disbanded and reformed multiple times, including under Norman Osborn. This version centers on Yelena Belova, Natasha Romanoff’s kid sister and the breakout star of the underrated Black Widow. Her father Alexei (Pajiba favorite David Harbour, Stranger Things), Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan, Captain America: Winter Soldier), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen, Ant-Man and the Wasp), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters), Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko, Black Widow, The Princess), and Robert Reynolds/Sentry (Lewis Pullman, Top Gun: Maverick) seem to round out the team.

I’m in for the knife-throwing scene alone.

With a cast that includes Rachel Weisz and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and writers who have worked on some of FX’s best shows, including The Bear and Dave, Thunderbolts has a lot going for it. If this team of anti-heroes can pull off a win, it will be another sign that Marvel made the right decision to scale back on the number of releases each year. Thunderbolts is scheduled for a 2025 release.