Thunderbolts*

Development

During the production of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), director James Gunn expressed interest in a film based on the Marvel Comics team Thunderbolts. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said this was a possibility based on the success of Guardians of the Galaxy,^[16] but Gunn was no longer interested in 2021, after directing the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film The Suicide Squad (2021), because that team from DC Comics is a similar concept to the Thunderbolts.^[17] In June 2018, Hannah John-Kamen expressed enthusiasm for reprising her Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) role of Ava Starr / Ghost in a Thunderbolts film considering the comics version of Ghost is a member of the team.^[18]

Speculation that a Thunderbolts team would be introduced to the MCU began in mid-2019 following the announcement that Daniel Brühl would appear as Helmut Zemo in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), reprising his role from Captain America: Civil War (2016).^[19][20] That series introduced Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and shows her recruiting Wyatt Russell's John Walker / U.S. Agent. De Fontaine is also shown to be working with Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova in the post-credits scene of the film Black Widow (2021). Commentators speculated that she was recruiting a team of villains or antiheroes like the Thunderbolts,^[20][21] and some felt that team could appear in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Executive producer Nate Moore said the Thunderbolts were never considered for the project because they would "cloud the story" and take away from other aspects of the series. Head writer Malcolm Spellman felt there was "a lot of chatter" around the team's potential introduction to the MCU and stated, "I don't know if fans are crazy or not".^[22]

By June 2022, Jake Schreier was attached to direct Thunderbolts,^[1][23] from a screenplay by Eric Pearson, with Feige producing. Schreier was hired after a presentation that "blew away" Marvel Studios executives. At that time, the studio had been in contact with actors to discuss their availability to reprise their roles for the film.^[1] Commentators suggested that the team could consist of characters such as Zemo, Belova, U.S. Agent, Ghost, Taskmaster, Abomination, Bucky Barnes, or Clint Barton, with de Fontaine or Zemo leading the team.^{[1][20][21][24][25]} Deadline Hollywood also suggested that Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross could be recast for the film following original actor William Hurt's death in March 2022,^[1][25] since that character has strong ties to the team in the comics.^[1] The film was officially announced in July at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), with a release date of July 26, 2024. It was set to be the last film in Phase Five of the MCU.^[26] Scarlett Johansson, who portrayed Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow in the MCU from 2010 to 2021, is credited as an executive producer on the film.^[27]

Pre-production

In September 2022, Justin Kroll of Deadline Hollywood described the film as being a spin-off for Belova because she was expected to lead the antihero team, with Pugh, Russell, and Brühl believed to be reprising their roles.^[28] At the D23 Expo the same month, Pugh, Russell, John-Kamen, and Louis-Dreyfus were confirmed to star, alongside Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster, all reprising their roles from previous MCU projects.^[2] Harbour said the film would be unique in the MCU, describing the main cast as "a bunch of misfits and outcasts and losers and people who don't really live up to the super in superhero".^[29] Pugh said the joy of uniting these characters was that they "don't play well together".^[12] She was set to be paid eight figures for Thunderbolts and another MCU film.^[30] At the end of the month, journalist Jeff Sneider reported that Harrison Ford was Marvel Studios' top choice to replace Hurt as Ross, and Marvel planned to announce his casting at D23 before Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy asked them not to because she felt it would detract from their promotion of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). Sneider was unsure if Ford had since passed on the role.^[31][32] In mid-October, Sneider reported that Ford had been cast as Ross and would first appear in Captain America: Brave New World (2025).^[33] The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Ford's casting in Brave New World and Thunderbolts shortly after,^[14] however, Variety reported that Ford's involvement would be limited to Brave New World.^[15] Further conflicting reports emerged in July 2024 when Entertainment Weekly's Sydney Bucksbaum and Christian Holub, and Esquire's Josh Rosenberg commented that Feige's remarks at SDCC may have indicated that Ford would not be appearing in Thunderbolts.^[34][35]

Louis-Dreyfus stated in January 2023 that filming would begin that June,^[36] and Ayo Edebiri joined the cast in an undisclosed role.^[37] The next month, Steven Yeun was cast in a significant role with the potential to continue in future MCU films.^[38] Yeun worked with Schreier on the Netflix series Beef (2023–present), and the director had the actor in mind when adding the character to the film.^[39] The next month, Lee Sung Jin revealed that he had joined the film to rewrite the script at Schreier's request; Lee also collaborated with Schreier on Beef, which Lee created. Lee said there were "a lot of themes and exciting things" about the film that drew him to the project. He was working closely with Schreier on the script and noted that, unlike Beef, Thunderbolts was Schreier's project and had different writing needs to that series given the film's large scope and scale.^[40] Sneider reported that Pearson's script focused too much on the Black Widow characters that audiences were already familiar with, and Marvel Studios was looking for the other characters to have a more equitable role so it felt like an ensemble film.^[41] Grace Yun was serving as production designer by April after doing so on Beef,^[42] and cinematographer Steve Yedlin was working on the film in Atlanta, Georgia, by May.^[43][44] Sanja Milkovic Hays served as the costume designer after previously working on Captain Marvel (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).^[45]

At the start of May, filming was delayed due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and was planned to resume after the strike concluded.^[46] The following month, the Utah Film Commission announced that Thunderbolts was set to film in Emery County and Grand County, Utah, in mid-2023, spending over $4.5 million in the state. Executive producer Brian Chapek said it would be a more grounded film set across the world with several practical locations.^[47] In mid-June, the film's release date was pushed back to December 20, 2024.^[48] When the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike ended in November 2023, the film's release date was pushed back again, this time to July 25, 2025.^[49] At that time, comic book writer Robert Kirkman, a close friend of Yeun's, revealed that Yeun had been cast as Sentry.^[50] Russell expressed confidence that the film would be interesting, fun, and not a "straightforward" Marvel film,^[51] and said he would begin filming in March or April 2024;^[52] in January, Stan said he would begin filming "in a month or so".^[53] Also that month, Yeun exited his role due to a scheduling issue caused by the film's delayed production,^[54][55][56] but expressed interest in working on a future MCU film.^[55] It was initially unclear if Marvel would recast or rethink Yeun's role,^[57] but Lewis Pullman was revealed to be the studios' top choice to replace Yeun as Sentry by the end of January,^[58][59] and his casting was soon confirmed.^[60][8] Additionally, Laurence Fishburne and Rachel Weisz were reported to be reprising their MCU roles as Bill Foster and Melina Vostokoff,^[13] and Geraldine Viswanathan was cast in the comedic supporting role of de Fontaine's assistant Mel, replacing Edebiri after she left the film due to its delayed schedule.^[6][8][60] In February, the film's release date was moved forward to May 2, 2025, swapping places with The Fantastic Four: First Steps.^[61] Joanna Calo was rewriting the script later that month. Previous drafts had centered on the titular team going on a mission during which they were intended to die.^[62]

Filming

Filming was originally scheduled to begin in mid-June 2023 and last for six months.^[46][36][63] It was initially not expected to be impacted by the writers' strike, with Marvel Studios reportedly planning to shoot what they could during principal photography and make any necessary writing adjustments during the film's already scheduled reshoots;^[64] however, filming was ultimately delayed by the writers' strike and subsequent SAG-AFTRA strike.^[46][49] The original filming schedule overlapped with Stan's work on The Apprentice (2024), for which he gained weight to portray Donald Trump. He had begun the physical transformation needed to portray Barnes when the strikes began and he had to reverse course.^[65] Harbour planned to shoot his scenes as Red Guardian concurrently with his scenes as Jim Hopper for the fifth season of Stranger Things (2016-present), also in Atlanta,^[66] before that production was also delayed by the writers' strike.^[67]

Principal photography began by February 26, 2024,^[68] at Trilith Studios and Atlanta Metro Studios in Atlanta,^[69][70] under the working title Oops All Berries, which is a reference to a variation of the cereal Cap'n Crunch that only featured the berry-flavored pieces.^[47][70] Andrew Droz Palermo serves as cinematographer, after previously working on the Marvel Studios series Moon Knight (2022),^[71] with the film being shot for IMAX.^[72] In March, Pugh revealed a new logo for the film which styled the title as "Thunderbolts*". Several commentators questioned why there was an asterisk in the logo.^[73] The next month, Feige confirmed that Thunderbolts* was the official title and said the use of the asterisk would be explained following the film's release, which was adjusted to May 5, 2025,^[74] though this was eventually moved back to May 2, 2025.^[75][76] This led to continued speculation as to the purpose of the asterisk in the title.^[77][78] Filming occurred in Emery County and Grand County, Utah, from May 29 to June 12, 2024,^[79] and was also expected to occur in New York.^[80] Louis-Dreyfus, who finished filming her scenes by early June,^[81][82] believed Marvel Studios was trying to "go back to their roots" with the film, focusing on "the human story" with multiple stunt sequences and avoiding CGI when possible.^[83] Filming concluded in mid-June,^[84] with Harbour wrapping his scenes at the end of the month.^[85]

Post-production

In September 2024, Chris Bauer and Wendell Edward Pierce were revealed to have been cast in undisclosed roles in the film.^[9] Harry Yoon and Angela M. Catanzaro serve as editors on the film. Yoon previously worked on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) and Beef.^[42][86]