Marvel Studios‘ Thunderbolts star Julia Louis-Dreyfus says the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe epic will be driven by grounded storytelling instead of special effects.
How is Thunderbolts a human MCU story?
In an interview with The New York Times, Louis-Dreyfus spoke about Marvel and Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier‘s practical approach during the movie’s production. “It’s very well organized. Very methodical. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. Particularly on this film, they’re very much focused on, frankly, the human story, believe it or not,” Louis-Dreyfus said.
“They’re trying to sort of go back to their roots, as it were. And so there’s a lot of focus on that. They’re trying to stay away from as much C.G.I. or whatever as possible, so that the stunts are, like, everywhere. And in fact, I had to do a couple. Well, I’m making this out to sound like I’m flying through the air like Captain America or whatever, but I’m not. It’s just a very, very, very, very brief stunt.”
Who does Julia Louis-Dreyfus play in Thunderbolts*?
Louis-Dreyfus reprises her role as CIA director Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in Thunderbolts*. The mysterious MCU character made her on-screen debut in 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+ when she talks John Walker (Wyatt Russell) into dropping the Captain America persona in favor of U.S. Agent. De Fontaine returned for the post-credit scene in 2021’s Black Widow when she assigned Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) to eliminate Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and her most recent appearance in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever revealed her new status as director of the CIA.
The premise for Thunderbolts* reportedly “centers on villains and antiheroes going on a mission that was supposed to end with their deaths.” Directed by Schreier and written by Lee Sung Jin (Beef), Thunderbolts stars Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster. Additionally, Harrison Ford replaces the late William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and Lewis Pullman as the Sentry.
Thunderbolts* opens in theaters on May 5, 2025.
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