As “Deadpool & Wolverine” put it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is at a bit of a low point right now. Most recently, we saw this in the way Marvel Studios nakedly attempted to appeal to nostalgia (for about 10 years ago) by hiring Robert Downey Jr. to come back to the MCU — this time as a villain — but also in the nostalgic cameos in movies like “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and the post-credits scene of “The Marvels.”
That trend continues in “Thunderbolts*,” a movie all about Marvel bringing back some of your favorite Marvel villains. No, not Thanos. Not Killmonger either, or Loki, or Namor. Instead, we get Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). This group of villains and anti-heroes are sent on a mission for the good ol’ American government in a less psychopathic version of “Suicide Squad.” Rounding out the team is Lewis Pullman, replacing Steven Yeun as Sentry, a Superman-like character with the power of a million exploding suns.
After enough delays and schedule changes that required one-time cast member Ayo Edebiri to drop out, Marvel fans will finally be able to witness the release of “Thunderbolts*” when it opens in theaters next summer. Now, we actually have a trailer giving us some insight into how the movie will look.
Get ready to meet a different kind of Marvel team
The trailer for “Thunderbolts*” assembles a messier team than any we’ve ever seen before in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Seemingly brought together by happenstance — someone is trying to kill all these very bad, no good people! — the trailer reveals a bit more about what the movie will be about. More than anything, it showcases the humor, which feels less like Joss Whedon and more “The A-Team,” or even James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” in that these people really don’t care about one another, and rather than sharing quips, they share insults.
Setting aside the confusing choice to score this trailer to Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” (a song most commonly associated with stories where the main characters question their reality, which really isn’t the vibe here), “Thunderbolts*” nevertheless looks like a fun and slightly different (but emphasis on slightly) kind of Marvel movie. That said, having Lewis Pullman once again play a character named Bob who seems way in over his head, and is clearly there for comic relief, is not only one of the best parts of this trailer, it’s also reason enough to be excited, given how Pullman stole the show in “Top Gun: Maverick.”
It remains to be seen how and if “Thunderbolts*” really plays into the larger MCU with the recent pivots happening within the world’s biggest franchise. All shall become clear when the film opens in theaters on May 2, 2025.
