Thunderbolts will introduce Marvel’s band of antiheroes to the MCU and the team has reportedly started to assemble its members, with a surprising leader already being chosen.
In Marvel’s comic book continuity, the Thunderbolts have typically been a team made up of reformed supervillains, though several different lineups have appeared over the years. It was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that the team would be getting their own MCU movie.
A new report has apparently confirmed which MCU character is set to lead the live-action iteration of the Thunderbolts, as well as revealing the identities of two other team members.
The MCU’s Anti-Avengers
Long before Thunderbolts was announced at Comic-Con, fans had been speculating such a movie might be in the works and had a fairly good idea of which characters might be set to appear.
The first three Thunderbolts to be revealed by Deadline scooper Justin Kroll, speaking during an appearance on Matthew Belloni’s The Town podcast, are Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker and Daniel Bruhl’s Baron Zemo. While none of these are necessarily unexpected, what may surprise fans is the news that Yelena is set to be the team’s leader.
Sharing the Thunderbolts scoop, Kroll said:
“[Florence Pugh] has got the Marvel superhero that’s already got a spin-off. Upcoming for her, actually, on that character is this Thunderbolts film, which is basically Marvel’s Suicide Squad. Hopefully, it has better results. But the concept is it’d be her leading the team of Wyatt Russell’s [John Walker] [and] Daniel Bruhl’s [Zemo]…
“Those antiheroes that aren’t exactly good but aren’t exactly bad. So there’s that. And people seem to like the Yelena character.”
Florence Pugh’s Yelena hasn’t been seen in much of a leadership role before. Daniel Bruhl’s Zemo comes from a power, revealing he was a baron in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, while Wyatt Russell’s John Walker/US Agent fancied himself the new Captain America. It’s easy to see how either of those characters might have leapt up to lead the Thunderbolts.
Of course, it’s possible the overactive egos of those characters will be the precise reason Yelena is put in charge, presumably by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Contessa, who has been seen reaching out to Yelena and Walker and will likely by the team’s equivalent to the Avengers’ Nick Fury.
Another likely candidate for the MCU’s Thunderbolts team is Tim Roth’s Emil Blonsky/Abomination, who has recently been seen claiming to have been rehabilitated in Marvel’s latest Disney Plus series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Here’s the official synopsis:
“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law follows Jennifer Walters as she navigates the complicated life of a single, 30-something attorney who also happens to be a green 6-foot-7-inch superpowered hulk.”
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law stars Tatiana Maslany, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Roth, Benedict Wong, Ginger Gonzaga, Josh Segarra, Jameela Jamil, Jon Bass, and Renée Elise Goldsberry.
New episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law premiere every Thursday on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the Marvel series and Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: The Town with Matthew Beloni
