Thunderbolts* is a breath of fresh air for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has been scuffling for several years. The movie takes ne'er-do-wells from various corners of the franchise and allows them to make up for their mistakes. Despite focusing on many solo acts, Thunderbolts* features its fair share of callbacks to other MCU projects. Loki's scepter is present at Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's party, Red Hulk is a topic of conversation, and the titular team finds themselves in Avengers Tower at one point. The most overt Easter egg, though, is John Walker's rendition of one of Captain America's catchphrases, "On your left!"
Walker drops the line while Yelena Belova, Ghost, and Bob try to escape Fontaine's base before it explodes and destroys all the evidence of her transgressions. On first watch, it's a harmless moment that shows how the former Captain America can't give up trying to emulate Steve Rogers.
The context of the line changes after learning its origins and how Walker's actor, Wyatt Russell, didn't want to say it. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Russell revealed that the callback found its way into the movie during an ADR session where the creative team was looking for something to fill time:
"That was a line I didn't want to say. Jake [Schreier] felt like we needed something to say in ADR. That was an ADR-ed line. That is not connected at all. It was just something to fill a void."
Russell may not think anything of the moment because it doesn't affect the movie's story. However, it's evidence of an issue plaguing the MCU, which risks undoing all the work going into making up for the mistakes of Phases 4 and 5.
How the MCU Just Won't Let the Past Die
After Avengers: Endgame, the MCU was looking to expand in a big way, sending some of its major characters to the small screen to give them long-form stories. There were bumps in the road now and again, but the new system appeared to be working.
The MCU went too far when it had Wanda Maximoff become the Scarlet Witch in WandaVision and learn how to deal with her grief, only to regress in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She went off the deep end, and things got so bad that the only course of action was to kill her (read about what Marvel Studios plans to do with the Scarlet Witch now).
Wanda's regression is still a dark spot in the MCU's history, and moments like Walker's Cap reference prove that things aren't on the right track. Walker fails to follow in Rogers' footsteps, getting blood on his hands and going against everything Captain America stands for.
Walker loses everything because his quest for glory gets the better of him, but by the time Thunderbolts* rolls around, he still doesn't get it. While he goes through a major arc in the movie that sees him learn from his past, it's hard to believe the new attitude will stick, especially given a recent MCU rumor.
The word on the street is that Hulk will have a role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, set to hit theaters on July 31, 2026. This will continue the trend of other heroes appearing in Peter Parker's solo projects. But the MCU goes out of its way to ensure that Peter ends up alone, like Spider-Man is in so many stories, in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The MCU tossing Hulk into Peter's next adventure because it needs somewhere to put him feels like a desperate move to ensure people see the Spider-Man movies as event films. What Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Co. are forgetting is that the MCU was built on interesting characters with clean slates, not heroes that constantly have to wrestle with what's come before.
