Marvel Studios Planning A “Thunderbolts” Feature Film

Since Avengers: Endgame capped off phase 3 of the MCU and brought a close to that series of films (for now, at least), many were wondering what the next big team up for Marvel would be. Most believed that the Feige and company were building up to the cinematic debut of The Thunderbolts and that proved to be true, with Marvel Studios recently announcing that Jake Schreier (FX’s Dave) will helm the film.

The Thunderbolts is essentially Marvel’s equivalent to DC’s Suicide Squad, where villains team-up to try and save the day when the heroes are otherwise occupied or unable, for whatever reason. The difference here is, instead of being villains being forced into servitude with microbombs surgically implanted into their necks (ala the Suicide Squad), The Thunderbolts are the worst of the worst masquerading as heroes. They take on completely different personas to trick the public into trusting them. And while the group actually does do some good, there is almost always some level of nefarious scheming behind everything.

And, again, much like DC’s Suicide Squad, the roster for The Thunderbolts often varies greatly. At this time, it’s not clear exactly which characters will be a part of the team. but Marvel has apparently reached out to actors already a part of the MCU and advised them to keep an opening in their schedules for next summer, which is the planned start of shooting for the project.

One general mainstay is Baron Zemo, acting as the hero Citizen V, so it seems likely that actor Daniel Brühl will likely be returning. And given the events of shows like Hawkeye and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, there is a good chance that characters like Yelena Belova and the former Captain America, John Walker, could be a part of the team. There is also an opportunity for Marvel to bring back some wayward characters, like Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher, whose also been a stalwart.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige will produce The Thunderbolts while Black Widow scribe Eric Pearson is taking on the scriptwriting duties. There is currently no timetable for when this project could hit theaters, though with it planning to shoot next summer, it seems certain that this will be held off until late 2024 or even 2025.