Thunderbolts*: “There were a million different directions we could’ve taken it in…”

Marvel Studios is set to give the MCU a big ole shake with Thunderbolts* – a character-driven action story that dives into the psyches of some of the franchise’s most fractured antiheroes. Featuring Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, and John Walker, the upcoming film sees these complicated figures thrust together under the guidance of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine for a mission that promises to be as dangerous emotionally as it is physically.

At its heart, Thunderbolts* is about trauma, trust, and the painful path to redemption. “What I love about this team is that they’re real underdogs who are trying to find their place in the world and if they’ll ever be worthy of being more than just villains in their lives,” says executive producer Brian Chapek. “We wanted to take characters that were already introduced in the MCU and bring them back in surprising ways.”

Indeed, for Marvel fans out there, it’s the culmination of subtle setups across Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Now, the studio pulls these disparate threads together to tell a new kind of superhero story — one where emotional baggage is just as important as superpowers.

“When we set out to make there were a million different directions we could’ve taken it in,” Chapek continues. “There’s a rich history of source material in the comics, so it forced us to find a perspective that was unique to the characters.”

That vision came courtesy of director Jake Schreier (Beef, Robot and Frank), who pitched the tone using clips from Reservoir Dogs, Ronin, and Toy Story 3. “I thought it would be fun to see how long we could tease out the tension of ‘will this ever work, and can they trust each other?’

“Trust is one of the key themes in the film,” Schreier continues. “These people are a mystery to each other… that lack of trust reveals so much about their character.”

Meet the Thunderbolts*

Florence Pugh returns as Marvel firm favourite, Yelena Belova and embraces the chance to go deeper. “I think it’s brave that Marvel has started dipping their toe into exploring the inner workings of characters and seeing what they must go through to be on point all the time,” she says. “It’s interesting to see what that pressure does to your brain.”

Not that this alters too much for Pugh, whose portrayal of Yelena has always leaned into her raw emotional edges. “She’s always been very raw as a human being,” Pugh explains. “If you had been through what Yelena has in her past, you’re going to be a pretty strange person when you come out the other side.”

Another firm favourite, Sebastian Stan, returns in his tenth turn as Bucky Barnes. Though this time he’s breaking new ground — this time portraying a senator (a hint of which we saw in Captain America: Brave New World). “It is a lot of fun to play with the idea that he’s trying something totally the opposite of who he was… he’s just so uncomfortable and a fish out of water in that environment,” Stan says.

Meanwhile, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is finally properly unleashed in all her glory as Valentina in Thunderbolts*, a character the MCU has been teasing for years. “I wanted to explore the idea of a villainess because I liked the idea of somebody who’s not clearly a villain,” Louis-Dreyfus explains. “But as the story progresses, she looks more and more like she ultimately may be one.”

David Harbour’s Red Guardian, once comic relief, now gets a deeper arc for his latest stint in the MCU. “When Marvel decided to continue the character, I was thrilled to see the character was more earnest, sincere and struggling within himself in the story,” he says. “I liked starting him in this sort of depressed delusional place and then having his heroism and sense of leadership become more fleshed out.”

Ghost (who we last saw in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), played again by Hannah John-Kamen, brings a whole new vibe. “Ghost is in a completely different space now, and the last time we saw her she was so out of control with her powers,” Hannah John-Kamen explains. “Since that time, she has mastered control of her emotions and has a completely different tempo and whole different approach to her powers. She has a calmness and stillness and a completely different energy.”

Ghost isn’t the only character seen in Thunderbolts* that’s on a new trajectory, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker is on a path of personal reckoning. “He wants to clean his slate so that he can be the person he knows that he can be and get back to what makes John Walker, John Walker,” Russell says. “His big issue is that he has never faced the reality of who he is and what he’s done that landed him where he is. It hasn’t been explored before, and it’s something that I was excited to do in this film.”

Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster has a new suit—and a new soul. “Taskmaster is someone who’s gone through so much, just like the rest of these characters, and Olga’s ability to show that with just one look was something I was grateful for,” says Schreier.

Hey, it’s not all MCU staples in Thunderbolts*, we have some newbies too. Lewis Pullman joins the cast as Sentry, aka Bob Reynolds, a powerful but enigmatic character. Pullman was pretty pleased with the intro he got into the franchise: “Bob’s introduction is a pretty good one because you just get out of this awesome fight sequence with all these Super Heroes and then this weird guy appears, and it’s confusing why he’s there,” laughs Pullman. “I think that’s one of the things that this film does well is amongst the backdrop of these big superhero setups, Bob has a pedestrian element to him that reminds you how powerful these superheroes are.”

Another new character to the franchise is Mel, Valentina’s hard-working assistant, played by Geraldine Viswanathan, who was caught pretty off-guard when she was handed the script: “The script was a lot more nuanced, complex and darker than I expected,” says Viswanathan. “When I saw Jake’s storyboards and how he was going to shoot it, I was like, wow, this feels really different from other Marvel films, and it felt like a breath of fresh air while still having all those great Marvel elements that everyone loves.”

Keeping things grounded for Thunderbolts*

From its character-driven story to its grounded visuals, Thunderbolts* has been built to feel real. “The goal was to make our best efforts to do everything we possibly could in camera,” says Schreier. Production designer Grace Yun adds, “There’s a certain type of speed in which we can move around on a practical set as opposed to green screen.”

The film’s most impressive environments include a full-scale New York street built from scratch and a haunting OXE Vault, both of which anchor major action sequences.”It’s a huge help when you’re working and acting in the space that your character is supposed to be in,” Pugh enthuses about the sets. “You actually feel like you get to be a part of it and you get to be a part of the world that the audience will watch. It changes everything, because you really have dust in your hair and bits flying through the air, so your face changes in reaction.

“It affects every single thing that you do and being in the spaces, being in the rooms, being on the New York set allows you to actually feel like you are that person you’re playing.”

With its willingness to explore the interior worlds of its heroes and having a real and grounded feel, Thunderbolts* is certainly aiming to do just what its characters have done – carve its own unique space within the MCU.

As Schreier puts it, “You can make a film that feels successful on a big superhero level with action and heroism, but also have it be successful on a personal level in dealing with internal trauma, depression and the need for feeling like you’re part of something.

“Hopefully, it adds up to something that works on both of those levels, where it is fun, humorous and has a lot of heart, but then also leaves you thinking a little bit about some things you might not expect from a superhero film.”

Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts is in UK cinemas now