Thunderbolts Cast and Director Tease How the Team Comes Together

Over the weekend at D23 Expo came official word from Marvel Studios about who would make-up the MCU version of the Thunderbolts on the big screen. The 2024 feature film was previously announced at San Diego Comic-Con, where it was revealed it would be the final movie in Marvel’s Phase Five, but who would occupy that team remained to be seen. Among those set to appear include Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova/Black Widow II, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/US Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier.

So how the heck are they all going to get together? The obvious answer is that Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine will be the one to unite these different corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but how and why remains to be seen. “That is one of the the initial mysteries,” Harbour told ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview. “I just made a joke about it’s like Dungeons and Dragons, where you meet in a tavern and it’s like there’s a dwarf drinking a beer and then there’s like an elvish figure over there, we all come together and then there’s this ghost… it’s not gonna happen like that, I don’t think. 

He continued, “But I think that’s one of the mysteries of the movie is what is their relationship, and as you say, there is a lot of exciting things as you wrap up the next phase in terms of sort of what their part of the whole universe is in this random, chaotic way. So, you know, we can’t say too much at this point, but they’re an exciting introduction of this team together again, that’s going to be a lot of fun. 

Jake Schreier (Paper Towns) is confirmed to be directing the film, while Eric Pearson (Black Widow) is confirmed to be the writer. Speaking with us, Schrieier commented on how Thunderbolts fits into the big picture of the MCU, especially since it has the coveted spot of being the final film in a phase.

“We know the world that we’re playing and I think that that’s what’s so impressive about what they put together is that there is this, you know, layered rich world that can intersect with itself and build towards something that hadn’t been seen kind of in the same plane before.”

Thunderbolts is scheduled to open in theaters on July 26, 2024.