Thunderbolts Director and Cast Tease What to Expect From Marvel Team

Fans finally learned who will be a part of the Thunderbolts team at D23 Expo. The ultimate fan convention for all things Disney was full of surprises, including trailers for Secret Invasion and Werewolf By Night. On the movie side, the biggest reveal came in the form of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announcing the cast of Thunderbolts, a new superhero team being introduced in Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thunderbolts was officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con, though the roster was held until D23 Expo. With the cast and director Jake Schreier on hand, they discussed what fans can look forward to when the Marvel film premieres on July 26, 2023.

“I obviously feel incredibly lucky to even have a cast like this, and to get characters that have such richness and depth and to see what happens when they square off,” Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier said backstage at D23 Expo.” Stranger Things actor David Harbour, who plays the Russian super-soldier Red Guardian, added, “They might lose,” to which Schreier replied, “Yeah, success is not guaranteed.”

“It’s actually going to be really nice to play the kind of painless strengths of Ghost and see where that takes her.” Harbour added that he will get a new suit in Thunderbolts, at least that’s what he was told, which will hopefully fit him a lot better than the costume he wore in Black Widow.

“You watch that Captain America and you see him in all these different movies, with the white star, the black star… I just want a full closet of suits, so I’m well on my way.”

The Thunderbolts cast on hand at D23 included Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Valentina Allegra de Fontaine), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), Sebastian Stan (James “Bucky” Barnes/The Winter Soldier), and Wyatt Russell (John Walker/U.S. Agent), who were joined on stage by director Jake Schreier. Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster from Black Widow is also on the team, along with Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, who recorded a greeting for the D23 audience.

It’s exciting to think about what threats the Thunderbolts will face. We can assume Valentina is the person putting the team together since she’s already interacted with U.S. Agent in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Yelena in the post-credits scene of Black Widow.

Who would you like to see pitted against the Thunderbolts? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!