The Thunderbolts have been a topic of conversation for many MCU fans for nearly a year at this point. The villainous team has been hinted at since characters like U.S Agent (played by Wyatt Russell) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) began to appear in Phase 4. Now, after many months of speculation, a Thunderbolts movie has been confirmed to be in development with Jake Schreier set to direct.
On the page, the team is put together by General Thunderbolt Ross as a group of antiheroes who do the dirty work that the Avengers won't. Made up of mostly reformed super villains, the MCU version of the squad could be led by Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, as William Hurt - who portrayed General Ross in the MCU - tragically passed early this year.
Now, with news of the Thunderbolts movie out in the open, the questions of who will appear in the film start to take shape. Well, audiences may have their first hint at what the team's lineup could look like on-screen.
MCU Thunderbolts Cast
As a part of the report revealing Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier, Deadline hinted at who could possibly be joining the cast of this upcoming MCU film.
Some names thrown out by the outlet included Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), and Daniel Brühl (Baron Zemo). Aside from these three, other characters listed are Ghost, Taskmaster, The Abomination, and U.S. Agent. Deadline does note that all details are vague right now as the film is early in development with no actors signed on to star.
Variety also reported on a potential cast list, speculating that Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, could show up as well.
Who Else Will Be In Marvel's Thunderbolts?
Since this project is very early into its development process, it makes sense that there's no cast members to announce at this time. Surely a small contingent of Marvel Studios executives know who will appear, but with no deals signed with anyone, now is not the time to confirm anything.
Both Deadline and Variety have pretty strong lists of potential characters to join the MCU's Thunderbolts. A Marvel movie headlined by Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, and potentially Jeremy Renner sounds like it would be a hit blockbuster. Then add in the likes of Daniel Brühl and Wyatt Russell, and something special seems to come together.
It seems like Marvel wants their own on-screen team of baddies akin to DC's Suicide Squad, and they have plenty of fantastic names to pull from.
What will be most interesting for many will be who exactly will be leading the Thunderbolts. Of course, General Thunderbolt Ross would be the easy choice, but after the untimely death of William Hurt, it looks as though Ross may not be the one pulling the strings. Marvel Studios could potentially recast the part, but that seems rather unlikely.
Right now, the most obvious choice would be Julia Louis-Dreyfus's Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Valentina first appeared last spring in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, seen trying to recruit Wyatt Russell's U.S. Agent. After that, she pulls a similar stunt with Pugh's Yelena Belova in Black Widow, pointing her in the direction of Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). So if there were to be someone to work as Thunderbolts puppet master, she feels like a natural fit.
Interestingly enough though, is the lack of any mention of Sharon Carter (portrayed by Emily VanCamp). Carter took a shady turn, adopting the moniker of the Power Broker, in the TFATWS, and feels primed to join a group like this.
For now, all fans can do is wait though, as Thunderbolts continues down the preproduction pipeline at Marvel Studios.
