While confirmed for the MCU ensemble film months ago, Thunderbolts* is finally revealing one of its secret characters.
Headed to theaters on May 2, Thunderbolts* features one of the widest casts of MCU characters fans have seen in years, but a certain star is only now being shown in the film's promotion.
Marvel's Secret Thunderbolts Characters Revealed
A new article from Empire offered the first look yet at a Thunderbolts* character who's been missing since the film's marketing began six months prior.
In the photo from Empire, actress Geraldine Viswanathan (Blockers, Poker Face) can be seen in the background, looking questioningly at Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Val who's also expected to be her boss.
Geraldine Viswanathan joined the Thunderbolts* cast last year after taking over the role from The Bear's Ayo Edebiri, the latter of whom dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
At the time, Edebiri's role was expected to play Val's assistant, Erin; and from the looks of this exclusive image, that appears to be the case for Viswanathan.
Not only is Val (aka Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and Director of the CIA) expected to play a pivotal role in Thunderbolts* but she is also the confirmed owner of Avengers Tower, which is now known as the Watchtower.
Is Geraldine Viswanathan More Than Val's Assistant?
Back when Ayo Edebiri was still attached to Thunderbolts*, her role was reportedly minimal. If true, and due to Marvel needing to spotlight its roster of antiheroes, Geraldine Viswanathan's absence from months of marketing makes sense.
But there is speculation that her lack of visibility may be due to another Thunderbolts* secret.
One of the film's theater standees showed Viswanathan billed alongside some of the film's heavy-weight stars, leading some to question if her role may be bigger than expected.
While billing can often be misleading about the extent of an actor's role, there are additional theories that Viswanathan may be playing Songbird, a member of the Thunderbolts in Marvel Comics (is the new Thunderbolts comic book team stronger than the MCU's) whose enhanced vocal cords allowed her to create anxiety, vertigo, and panic attacks in others with her screams.
If so, perhaps Viswanathan may be less of an Agent Hill to Val's Nick Fury and more of a mole or undercover hero. And, could this be the reason why Marvel Studios initially cast rising star Ayo Edibiri?
Still, with so many characters to juggle, coupled with Lewis Pullman's Bob (who's universally expected to be Marvel's final Phase 5 supervillain), Thunderbolts* has enough complicated characters to deal with.
But in the meantime, it will be interesting to see if further marketing continues to show Geraldine Viswanathan and to what extent.
Thunderbolts* arrives in theaters on Friday, May 2.
