It was already the worst kept secret in the Marvel universe... and then Marvel themselves told everybody anyway.
After the opening weekend of Thunderbolts* back in May, Marvel Studios took to social media to announce that the asterisk stood for The New Avengers, which the movie was hastily retitled to in US theater listings. This caught even the people who had seen the film off guard, considering this reveal is the last thing we see before the end credits.
However, this allowed the cast to finally breathe a sigh of relief as they could openly discuss their characters’ new identities, and more openly tease how they’ll factor into Doomsday, due for release next year. Back in April, I spoke to stars Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost) and Lewis Pullman (Bob/Sentry) and gave them a brief reprieve from walking on eggshells to openly talk about everything Kevin Feige wanted them to keep under wraps.
The New Avengers
Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost was first introduced all the way back in 2018, in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Her return to the MCU frontlines was a long time coming, but speaking to Zavvi just after the film premiered – before the public had a chance to see it – meant that her character’s promotion still felt surreal.
“I’m very excited that I can finally talk about it! It was incredible to see our names on the back of their chairs, next to all the Marvel legends, and it’s an honour and a privilege to be playing such a part in this universe.
“When I read the script for the first time, discovering that Ghost was going to become a New Avenger was a huge surprise for me. Coming back to this project, I was just grateful that she didn’t die, but to end with that reveal was such a beautiful surprise.
“I can’t talk on anything more than that, but it is genuinely the most electric moment I’ve ever experienced, seeing that chair with my name on during the Instagram live reveal of the Doomsday cast. And it was on there for a full 15 minutes, so I got to bask in that glory!”
Lewis Pullman has become the breakout star of the movie, and his excitement going forward isn’t so much joining forces with other Marvel heroes so much as getting the chance to explore more of Bob’s psyche.
“When I auditioned for Thunderbolts*, I hadn’t read the script; I’d just been given a play-by-play by Jake (Schrier, director) about what was going to generally happen. By the time I’d signed on, which I was relieved and honoured to do, I couldn’t believe that I’d fallen in love with this character as much as I had.
“Being a part of Marvel was already something I couldn’t have imagined, but to do so with a character who suits me so well personally, who is the perfect vessel for the themes I want to explore as an actor, was very exciting. And now that can continue into Doomsday, are you kidding me?”
Bob was largely absent from all pre-release marketing, with his sudden appearance in Valentina’s O.X.E facility designed to throw the audience off as much as the characters. Introduced with amnesia, he soon learns that his suppressed true identity is that of Sentry, whose powers are stronger than all the Avengers combined – unfortunately, when his hero persona is unleashed, it’s the character’s dark side, The Void, that comes out instead.
Suppressing a lot of his own personal demons, he can send people straight into a dimension where they are forced to eternally confront their worst memories, turning them into shadows in the real world. He’s one of the most memorable Marvel villains in years, and since the film’s release, many have said the film’s depiction of mental health struggles has resonated strongly with them.
Speaking to Pullman the night after he saw the movie with an audience for the first time, he described it as a “relief” that the themes that resonated with him were having the same impact with fans.
“It was great to see and hear how it affected everybody, that was always the hope with this character. I think it was a challenge to craft his arc, because the architecture of his characterisation is very complex, and the supernatural rules of this world are complex, so it required a lot of mapping out the detail beforehand.
“There were scenes where I thought I understood the full gravity of what was happening when filming it, but it wasn’t until seeing it in the end where I fully grasped everything Jake was talking about exploring. There were certain things which he was adamant that he didn’t want to present in Bob, because whilst what he’s dealing with and how he deals with it is sad, he wanted to bring to life the side of him that smiles through things and has all these coping mechanisms.”
As John-Kamen points out, the movie is resonant because Bob is a catalyst that allows the rest of the cold-blooded characters to open up and discuss their feelings, normalizing a taboo in anti-hero characterization.
She explained: “Having Bob’s character reinforces the idea that none of us are alone in our struggle, and that all of these characters have been using coping mechanisms to ignore their feelings. As Yelena (Florence Pugh) says, “just push it down”, and the beautiful, relatable message of the film is that you don’t have to, you’re not alone.
“I think that’s what the heartbeat of this movie is; the message that we’re not alone, and don’t have to feel like we’re failing on our own.”
And whilst the pair can’t discuss anything we can expect from Doomsday, Pullman does tease that the main attraction to returning is the chance to dive back into his character’s tortured subconscious.
He added: “How can you have Bob as part of this universe without inherently exploring any of these themes? He comes with his past, and you can never fully heal it, just get better at managing it, understanding it and living with it, so I assume any future film he’s in will continue to explore that...”
Another badly kept secret was Taskmaster getting killed off, something fans had speculated for months as Olga Kurylenko’s character had only appeared briefly in the marketing – and the Quantum Of Solace star didn’t even turn up to the premiere.
Ghost was the character responsible for killing off the character previously introduced in Black Widow, so I was naturally curious as to how significant the moment felt for John-Kamen when shooting that scene.
“Oh, it was 1000% significant”, she continued. “At the beginning of the film, you see Yelena shoot four guards, establishing that these people are all killers who came to this vault to kill each other with no guilt, no fear of having blood on their hands. My character initially wants to leave as she feels she’s done her job, and it was important to have a moment like that where there was nothing redemptive for her, a moment where you remember they are all assassins, who can take out people the audience have a relationship with without thinking twice.
“The characters begin to bond, but it’s an entirely selfish way. It’s the start of a journey about coming to terms with what it means to have done what they did.”
As hinted above, the cast weren’t at liberty to tease much about where their characters will go next. The post-credits scene showed the Fantastic Four speeding out of the 1960s and about to crash land in the present day, which naturally prompts the question of whether they’ll even become allies right out of the gate – after all, they’re already in Captain America’s bad books for infringing on the Avengers copyright.
However, John-Kamen does reveal no more drama is likely within her newly established team, as it would contradict the message she hoped people would take away from the film.
“There’s a beautiful moment where we’re not forced together anymore, and we all make the choice to fight for the people of New York against Sentry. It’s the most important part for me, their choice to unite for the greater good.
“Yes, they were forced together in the first place, but their journey is continuing because they chose to come back together and fight the bigger fight.”
