Marvel's Thunderbolts: Everything We Know So Far

The MCU is about to welcome a whole new superhero team.

Marvel Studios are currently developing a Thunderbolts movie, which will premiere as the final entry in Phase Five.

Few details have been revealed so far, but we’ve taken a closer look at what fans can expect from the movie when it debuts.

Who Are The Thunderbolts?

Marvel Comics

Introduced in a 1997 issue of The Incredible Hulk, the Thunderbolts presented themselves as heroes taking over the mantle from the Avengers and the Fantastic Four after those groups were declared dead in the Onslaught crossover comics.

However, this was all a ploy, as they were secretly the Masters Of Evil in disguise – although very soon after, the comic narratives largely revolved around their attempts to reform and become real heroes, with the help of several familiar faces.

The group has gone through several iterations over the years, welcoming characters from across the comics universe from classic villains like Doc Ock and Green Goblin, to Avengers including Hawkeye (one of the team’s earliest mentors when they first wanted to become good guys).

Cast And Crew

Marvel Studios

At D23, a first look piece of concept art of the Thunderbolts crew was unveiled, showing some returning favourites – and a promotion to lead character status for various side characters introduced in recent films.

Based on the poster, the team will be led by Yalena Belova (Florence Pugh). Also in the team are John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Red Justice (David Harbour), Valentina Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen).

The screenplay for Thunderbolts will be penned by Eric Pearson, who wrote Black Widow, which starred several of the above characters.

Marvel Studios

In the comics, the Thunderbolts have taken on several different team members over the years. The most notable omission from the above list is Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo, the original leader of the group in the comics – however, everybody from Hawkeye to Deadpool has teamed up with them at some point or another.

Could this be the perfect place for a Kate Bishop return, or for the Merc with a Mouth to make his MCU debut? We’ll have to wait and see…

Plot?

Marvel Studios

Right now, the only thing we have to go on is this vague synopsis: “A group of supervillains are recruited to go on missions for the government.” Come on Marvel, tell us more!