Marvel’s Thunderbolts Movie Rumored for 2023

A new rumor is claiming that Marvel’s Thunderbolts movie is finally happening, with the film supposedly starting production in 2023. This news comes in a larger report about how 2023 will really be the next big push in Disney and Marvel Studios’ production on the next set of Marvel Cinematic Universe projects, which could also include the Fantastic Four movie, Shang-Chi sequel, and Nova film. In the case of Thunderbolts, this rumored production timeline will seem somewhat serendipitous, as current events in the MCU Phase Four storyline has dropped little breadcrumbs that could indeed be leading to a Thunderbolts movie in 2024 or 2025. 

Read: Marvel’s Thunderbolts Explained

If you are not familiar, the Thunderbolts comics started in the 1990s using a novel concept: a group of supervillains re-brand themselves as new superheroes (led by Zemo) in order to gain public trust and access to all kinds of resources normally protected from villains. The wrinkle came when certain members of the team began taking the role of being heroes to heart, leading to internal conflict. Over time, Marvel evolved the Thunderbolts to be something more like DC’s Suicide Squad (though less violent), with villains and anti-heroes being recruited by the government for missions. The latest run of comics even saw Kingpin use a Thunderbolts team comprised of D-level Marvel villains as an actual suicide squad. 

MCU Fans expect the live-action film to combine elements of the earlier comics, by taking villainous or morally comprised types like Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), John Walker (Wyatt Rusell), Taskmaster, or Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and putting them on a team together on a government-sponsered team, led by Contessa Valentina Allegra (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). That list of candidates is only expected to grow as series like Hawkeye come out, and by the end of 2023, Valentina would arguably have a full roster lined up for a Thunderbolts movie.

It’s just as possible that whatever thread of story Valentina is on may be entirely separate from this Thunderbolts project. As stated, the comics have had many iterations, and Marvel Studios could just as easily be ready to ape DC’s Suicide Squad movie concept and do it with some Marvel Studios flare. Fans will have plenty of candidates from the comics teams to nominate for this Thunderbolts movie – from Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier to the long-awaited debut of Red Hulk in the MCU. 

Who would YOU like to see in a Thunderbolts movie? 

Source: GWW