Director Jake Schreier breaks down why Thunderbolts will be unique amongst the sprawling pantheon that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The filmmaker explained his reasoning during a recent talk with Collider, emphasizing the fact that while many of the characters are already established, the film isn’t a continuation of any individual story. “It was just a really different approach and a new kind of story to tell amidst that, which I know they’ve made so many things, but it’s not a sequel,” Schreier said. “Yes, these characters have appeared before, but it is a new story being told and a story, I think, with a very different perspective than maybe people aren’t expecting, and I think that that felt exciting and felt like a real challenge worth taking on.”
Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap
Thunderbolts is expected to pick up on several dangling narrative threads seen in previous MCU stories, bringing together a variety of misfit characters and uniting them into a single dysfunctional unit. Yelena Belova, the current Black Widow of the franchise, will be joining forces with her disgraced father Red Guardian, while enlisting the help of Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier, John Walker aka U.S. Agent, Antonia Dreykov aka Taskmaster and Ava Starr aka Ghost. The group’s formation is led by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, a government agent who is presumably tasked with gathering a team of individuals that can complete black-ops missions The Avengers can’t tackle. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, played by Harrison Ford in the wake of William Hurt‘s death in 2022, will also feature and presumably be the origin of the team’s name.
Information on Thunderbolts is still scarce, but Marvel Studios has halted production on the film in accordance with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The movie is currently slated to hit theaters on December 20, 2024, but it remains unknown whether it will make this release date.
