- POPSUGAR Australia
- Celebrity
- “The Bear”‘s Ayo Edebiri Is Reportedly Joining Marvel’s “Thunderbolts” in a Secret Role
“The Bear”‘s Ayo Edebiri Is Reportedly Joining Marvel’s “Thunderbolts” in a Secret Role
Getty/ The Walt Disney Company / Matt Winkelmeyer
The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand as it gears up to kick off Phase Five.
At the D23 Expo held on Sept. 10, 2022, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced that the MCU’s fifth phase will begin with the highly anticipated release of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which hits theaters on Feb. 17, 2023. The threequel will then be followed by movies like “The Marvels” and “Captain America 4,” as well as series like “Echo” and “Ironheart.” Finally, after a year and a half of new projects, Phase Five will conclude in 2024 with the highly anticipated “Thunderbolts” film, which will feature so many Marvel antiheroes you know and love, as well as some new faces.
For fans familiar with Marvel, the Thunderbolts are very different than the Avengers, but you can think of them as being similar to DC’s Suicide Squad.
So, who’s part of the epic Thunderbolts lineup, and what will bring them together? We’re here to answer all your questions. Read ahead for everything we know about the upcoming movie ahead.
Related: Don’t Miss a Single Phase 5 Marvel Movie or TV Show With This Complete Schedule
Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Marvel's "Thunderbolts" Plot
Details about the “Thunderbolts” film are still being kept under wraps. It was previously reported by Deadline that the movie would center around “a group of villains who are sent on missions commissioned by the government.” However, since the lineup was announced at D23 Expo, we now know the Thunderbolts are made up of a mix of villains and antiheroes.
Getty/ The Walt Disney Company / Image Group LA
Marvel's "Thunderbolts" Cast
The “Thunderbolts” cast alone is reason enough to want to watch the film. The team consists of Yelena Belova (“Don’t Worry Darling“‘s Florence Pugh), who, like her sister Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, was trained to be an assassin and spy. Also returning is Yelena’s adoptive father, Alexei Shostakov/the Red Guardian (played by “Stranger Things“‘s David Harbour), who is a Russian super soldier, and “Black Widow” villain Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (“Quantum of Solace”‘s Olga Kurylenko), who was trained to be an assassin by her father, General Dreykov.
The “Thunderbolts” lineup also includes Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier (“Avengers: Endgame“‘s Sebastian Stan), who fought alongside Captain America in World War II before he was brainwashed into becoming an assassin. Since breaking free from his brainwashing, Bucky has been trying to make up for his crimes, as seen in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” The series introduced new characters like Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine (“Seinfeld”‘s Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and US Army veteran John Walker/US Agent (“Overlord”‘s Wyatt Russell), both of whom will return in “Thunderbolts.”
“Game of Thrones”‘s Hannah John-Kamen will also star as Ava Starr/Ghost, a villain seen in “Ant-Man and the Wasp” who has the power to phase through objects. Rounding out the “Thunderbolts” cast is a new face joining the MCU: “The Bear”‘s Ayo Edebiri, who, according to Deadline per sources, has boarded the film in a “new secret role.”
Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Marvel's "Thunderbolts" Release Date
Considering Phase Five of the MCU hasn’t even begun yet, it’ll be a while until we finally get to watch “Thunderbolts.”
The film is set to release on July 26, 2024. This puts it in between two other major movies: “Captain America: New World Order,” which will premiere on May 3, 2024, and “Deadpool 3” which will premiere on Nov. 8, 2024.
Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
How Is Marvel's "Thunderbolts" Team Different From the Comics?
The Thunderbolts team that will be featured in the movie is slightly different than the one in the comics. First of all, Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl), a villain who appears in “Captain America: Civil War” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” is the leader of the Thunderbolts in the comics. He recruits six criminals called the Masters of Evil to build his team, but they later turn on him. Brühl has yet to be announced as part of the “Thunderbolts” cast, so it’s unclear whether the movie version of the team will have him as a leader. Since there are still two years left until the film premieres, it’s possible Brühl’s casting will be announced closer to its release date.
In the comics, the Thunderbolts lineup also constantly changes. For example, iterations of the team have included Hawkeye, Black Widow, Ant-Man, Rhino, Venom, Deadpool, and more.
