Just a month and a half after we got a teaser trailer, Marvel released a full 3:40 trailer for Thunderbolts* in honor of D23 Brazil. Unlike our last look at these antiheroes, jokes flew just as much as bullets did as we see many of the characters we know and love at odds with each other.
As for what is revealed and who is fighting who, you will have to watch for yourself. I will say that the speculation that Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louise Dreyfus) bought Avengers Tower is confirmed in this trailer.
Along with Dreyfus, Florence Pugh returns as Yelena Belova, with Sebastian Stan leading the team as Bucky Barnes, Harbour as Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Wyatt Russell as USAgent, and Lewis Pullman as “Bob” who is The Sentry aka the most powerful character in the world, basically Marvel’s version of Superman. Laurence Fishburne and Rachel Weisz are also expected to reprise their previous roles.
As mentioned in our previous article for the teaser, we still don’t know for sure what the asterisk in Thunderbolts* means. Travis Hopson surmised that the name could be a cover for something else. “In the beginning [of their comic run], they were the Masters of Evil. Later, it was the Dark Avengers. Both teams of villains, and as seen in this new trailer, the MCU version is also comprised of bad guys or at least morally flexible ones.”
We at least get a joke out of it in this most recent trailer, as Red Guardian is all for the name. “We can’t call ourselves that,” Bucky says exasperated. “Thank god,” Ghost responds. While the asterisk could be an indication that it is not an official name, the theory that it stands for something more sinister makes more sense.
Thunderbolts* will be released in May 2024 and was directed by Jake Schreier. It was written by Eric Pearson with script edits by Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo. While I would normally say this is not necessarily a good sign, the pedigree behind these names would indicate otherwise. Pearson was a script doctor for pretty much every Marvel film released between 2015 and 2019 except for Thor: Ragnarok, which he wrote with Craig Kyle and Christopher L. Yost. His most recent screenplay was for Transformers: One and the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps. Calo has worked on Bojack Horseman, Hacks, and The Bear while Jin has worked on Dave and Silicon Valley. Both have worked on Buca & Bertie and Girlboss together and on Beef with director Jake Schreier. What do these prestige comedies mean for the Thunderbolts? Well, expect a lot of snappy dialogue and character growth through arguments.
Also released today is the first full trailer for Captain America: Brave New World. With an entirely different tone, this film harks back to the political thrillers of the 70s, similar to Captain America: Civil War.
This film, from writers Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson of Falcon and the Winter Soldier and co-writer Matthew Orton, sees Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in the middle of an international conspiracy, started by super soldier Isaiah Bradley’s (Carl Lumby) attack on now President Thunderbolt Ross (played now by Harrison Ford).
Danny Ramirez also returns for Brave New World as Falcon. Tim Blake Nelson and Liv Tyler return to Marvel from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk as the villainous Leader and Betty Ross respectively. Others in the cast include Shira Haas as Sabra, Xosha Roquemore, WWE superstar Seth Rollins, Rosa Salazar, and Giancarlo Esposito who is all over this trailer causing trouble.
