Kevin Feige had one key mandate for the Thunderbolts* movie that he believed would make it better. As President of Marvel Studios, Feige has overseen the development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the beginning, and his input remains crucial to the success of each new project.
Director Jake Schreier has revealed that Kevin Feige gave him one key mandate when developing Thunderbolts*: make sure the film works for audiences who haven't seen any other MCU projects. This news is significant because it signals a possible shift in Marvel's storytelling, putting the most focus on individual stories and sets of characters. Schreier told GamesRadar+, "For all of them, we tried to start fresh," talking about how each member of the team would be given a new story (find out how that worked out for Taskmaster). He also confirmed that Feige told him that Thunderbolts* needed to stand on its own. That direction clearly shaped Schreier's creative choices, pushing him to give characters like Florence Pugh's Yelena and Lewis Pullman's Bob.
Speaking with Hollywood Elite, Schreier elaborated, "Kevin told me from the beginning... 'Make it different. Try to do something different with this one.'" How that translated to Thunderbolts* was a heavy focus on character, then worry about the action set pieces. Schreier explained that "the action always tied back to character:"
"Kevin told me from the beginning when we started on it, he said, 'Make it different. Try to do something different with this one.' And I think we really tried to approach it from more of a kind of internal character place and figured out what that arc was. And then kind of explicate that to a larger action scale and scope but the action always tied back to character."
Schreier also highlighted how Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes serves a new kind of leadership role within the team, "That gave him an opportunity to step into a very different role within the MCU:"
And it really is about a kind of smaller more internal issue that all of these characters are going through. And I think especially Sebastian [Stan], what was so nice is that his character has already been through and processed a lot of the things that our other characters haven't. And that gave him an opportunity to step into a very different role within the MCU that maybe he hasn't been in before."
In a separate interview with Marvel Entertainment, Schreier mentioned again the focus for Thunderbolts* to be "unexpected" in some way:
"Something we always talked about is when you get to the end of the film it should feel like it lived up to the legacy of all the great movies that have been made at this studio but in an unexpected way. Like it didn't feel like that on the journey there but it kind of added up to that in the end. So I think it's got something for both."
Now playing in theaters, Thunderbolts* is the latest entry in the MCU, bringing Phase 5 to a close. Directed by Schreier and written by Eric Pearson and Lee Sung Jin, the film stars Stan, Pugh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Val), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Wyatt Russell (John Walker), and Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost).
Thunderbolts Place in the Greater MCU
Kevin Feige has been tapped into the MCU's story since the beginning, often getting credit for much of its interconnected success over the years. With that type of pedigree, there's no doubt that the Thunderbolts* creative team followed his lead. Considering the team assembled in Thunderbolts* aren't exactly A-Listers in Marvel Comics (like the Fantastic Four), it makes sense to try and make this movie feel different and stand out amongst the crowd.
Part of the reason Feige called the 2023 writers and actors strike "disappointing" is Thunderbolts*, which had to delay its production start date by about one year. In general, Marvel Studios has had to audible much more in the past few years than ever before. Most notably, Avengers: Kang Dyntasy was completely reimagined after Jonathan Major was fired, with Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. Staying on track has been difficult, and a common criticism from long-time fans has been the connectivity between projects leading into the next Avengers event.
The rest of this article contains specific spoilers for the plot and post-credits scenes from Thunderbolts*.
As the director stated, Thunderbolts* does an amazing job of balancing character dynamics and personal trauma while also giving fans a satisfying MCU ending. Nothing gets more important than the "New Avengers" being proclaimed at the conclusion of the movie. As this pushed the universe narrative forward, especially with the post-credits scene, it doesn't take away from the fact that a Thunderbolts group hug especially saves the world from The Void. Thunderbolts* is the latest example of an MCU film that can perfectly stand on its own while also moving the proverbial ball down the field as the universe grows nearer to Doomsday.
