Though production in Marvel Studios Thunderbolts won’t begin for several more months, the film’s plot is starting to take shape. Credible rumors suggest that the team assembled by Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine will find themselves up against one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful characters: Robert Reynolds, aka Sentry. Now, a new rumor from one of YouTube’s most popular sensationalists adds a little extra seasoning to the rumored rumble between Sentry and the Thunderbolts.
The rumor packs a pretty meaty claim about what it is that makes the Sentry such a dangerous character; if it’s accurate (and I have every reason to believe it is), Marvel Studios has chosen to go a route with the character that seemed improbable. According to the new information, Robert Reynolds will have a relationship with the malignant entity known as the Void.
In the comics, the Void is an ancient being of unspeakable evil whose origins seem to predate the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II. The entity attached itself to Sentry, slowly driving him mad and driving him to commit unimaginable atrocities. Over the years, the Void’s true nature has been reconned and added to but the reality remains that its inclusion in the MCU portends very bad things for the Thunderbolts.
Since rumors of the Sentry’s role in Thunderbolts first surfaced, fans have theorized that the team of Super Soldiers and spies probably didn’t stand much of a chance against the Superman analog. With the all-but-certain addition of a dark entity fueling Sentry’s rage, it’ll be interesting to see how the group holds up to a being with the power of a million suns who is possessed by an evil being.
Thunderbolts is tentatively slated to land in theaters on July 26, 2024.
Marvel Studios 2024 team-up film, Thunderbolts, has been in the news quite a bit recently as rumors about one of Marvel’s crazier characters, Sentry, have excited fans. The film is set to introduce the titular team, under the watch of Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ Val, to the MCU. Among the team are a trio of characters who debuted in 2021’s Black Widow and it seems like that’s more than just a coincidence.
In an Instagram post, Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development Andy Park explained that Thunderbolts is serving as a sequel to Black Widow.
It’s not the first time the comparison has been made, but having Park seemingly confirm it is fantastic and gives fans an idea of what to expect from the tone of the film…and who the lead might be.
Ayo Edebiri is set to join the cast of Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts. The news was revealed on Thursday by Deadline with the outlet revealing Edebiri’s role is being kept under wraps. The actor is coming off of the critically-acclaimed FX series, The Bear, where she plays Sydney Adamu. She has also appeared in Dickinson and has lent her voice to Netflix’s hit series, Big Mouth.
Thunderbolts is set to mark the actor’s first big studio role. She recently appeared in Theater Camp, which recently premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and sold to Searchlight for $8 million. She also has the second season of The Bear coming this summer to Hulu. The Bear proved to be Edebiri’s big breakout, even earning her a Critics Choice nomination.
Edebiri will join a cast that already includes Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Wyatt Russell as US Agent, and Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster. And while recent reports have suggested otherwise, Hannah John-Kamen still seems locked to return as Ghost.
Jake Schreier will direct Thunderbolts from a script by Black Widow writer Eric Pearson. The movie is currently slated to hit theaters on July 26, 2024.
Since her first appearance in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has been recruiting some folks who are comfortable living in a moral grey area. Following a big reveal at D23 Expo 2022, audiences learned that Val’s full team will come together in the 2024 film Thunderbolts. Since the concept art of the team was unveiled, speculation about potential missing members of the squad began and recent rumors seemed to confirm that at least one member was withheld: Robert Reynolds, aka, Sentry. While the super-powered Sentry seems like he might be a bit too wack to fit into the MCU, there are some changes that could be made to make him fit the rumored “evil Superman” bill. However, despite having a plethora of problems, Sentry has never truly been a bad guy–at least not on his own merit–and a new rumor suggests that might not be the case in Thunderbolts either.
According to Twitter user CanWeGetSomeToast, while it’ll be Sentry going into battle against the Thunderbolts, Val’s the one pulling his strings.
The user suggests that Val will be behind whatever new Super Solider project is responsible for (presumably) turning Reynolds into Sentry and somehow making him her puppet. Additional rumors suggest that Sentry begins Thunderbolts as a member of the team before turning on his allies. From the sounds of it, whatever manner or method of control Val will have over Sentry won’t last and the Thunderbolts will have to come together to either take him down or get cooked.
Sentry being under the thumb of a manipulative and duplicitous leader isn’t a new concept. During the Siege era from the pages of Marvel Comics, Sentry finds himself a member of Norman Osborn’s team of Avengers (Dark Avengers) and is used by Osborn as a one-man hit squad before being taken out by Thor. With Thor not currently expected to appear in Thunderbolts, one must wonder who will stop Sentry.
Marvel Studios has been busy promoting the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp sequel, but there are a variety of other projects in some form of development. One of the biggest questions surrounded Marvel Studios’ latest attempt at a new group of unlikely heroes joining together to fight a common cause in Thunderbolts.
It wasn’t until D23 that we got our first official look at the team right after the film was announced during San Diego Comic-Con not too long before. So, many were surprised to get a first look at the team but it wasn’t without any controversy, as some felt the team was too one-note given the number of super soldiers involved.
Now, just as rumors are making the rounds that one o its most unique additions might not be a part of the film, it seems that the original artwork is no longer available on Andy Park’s Instagram channel and even missing from the official Marvel Studios Instagram account. It was initially uploaded after the panel for everyone to get a high-quality look at what was revealed but its absence is quite noticeable.
Regarding the rumor, the Internet has been discussing whether one of its key members may no longer appear in the film. Ant-Man and the Wasp introduced one of its most unique villains in Ava Starr, better known as Ghost. She was played by the talented Hannah John-Kamen who had yet to return to the franchise. Now, the rumors are pointing to her potentially no longer being part of the film, which might be a reason they took down the artwork.
Of course, there’s no confirmation in regards to why it is no longer available on their official accounts. They tend to rewrite these projects quite frequently and who knows if they might’ve taken some of the feedback to heart and want to expand the team beyond the cast we’ve already seen. It would be a shame if the one character with a unique ability would end up not appearing, but we’ll have to see once more news drops. For now, the drop
Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts has been surrounded by a litany of questions since its formal announcement at San Diego Comic-Con in 2022. Everything has been questioned, from the titular team’s line-up to who they’ll face when the cards are down. One fact that has remained clear and constant, however, is the heavy involvement of Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ mysterious Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. The character, who first appeared via cameos in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow before gaining a larger role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is set to replace Samuel L. Jackson‘s Nick Fury as the government-sponsored administrator behind the world’s next supergroup, and Louis-Dreyfus can’t wait to get filming started.
Speaking exclusively with Variety, the former Veep star revealed that Thunderbolts will begin its shoot in June. The film, about a “rag-tag bunch” of vengeful anti-heroes, is currently scheduled to release on July 26th, 2024, which would make a production start in the summer of 2023 seem like a fairly sensical plan. Fans have been eagerly awaiting more news on the project, and it would seem Louis-Dreyfus is more than happy to oblige. On top of commenting on the June filming schedule, the actress stated she’d spoken with Marvel about allowing her character to be involved in a few action sequences as well:
I actually pitched it. I told them I really, really want to fight. We’ll see if that happens. I haven’t seen the script yet.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Thunderbolts will be directed by Jake Schreier when the shoot finally does begin. Aside from Louis-Dreyfus, it will also see the return of Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, and Hannah John-Kamen to their respective Marvel Cinematic Universe roles. Harrison Ford will also make his MCU debut, taking over the part of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross from the late William Hurt.
The lack of actual news about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has the rumor mill cranking harder than ever. Rumors of project delays, plot points and potential castings have run rampant over the past few weeks and this week looks to be starting off no differently as a new casting rumor is making the rounds. According to an anonymous source (shared by Reddit’s Marvel Studios Spoilers mods), Stranger Things star Sadie Sink may be joining the MCU.
The rumor is that Sink is being eyed to join the cast of Thunderbolts as team mainstay Melissa Gold, aka Songbird. While interesting, the rumor seems potentially problematic. Sink is only 20 years old and certainly looks younger than that; Gold has not traditionally been portrayed as teen/young adult in the comics. Additionally, Season 5 of Stranger Things is set to begin filming in May 2023 and Thunderbolts is rumored to begin filming in June 2023 and Marvel Studios features usually film for about 5-6 months, plus scheduled reshoots. Of course, there’s plenty of room to work around that as Sink’s Stranger Things character, Max Mayfield, was comatose at the end of Season 4 and Season 5 is expected to be in production for nearly a year and co-star David Harbour is also working both projects.
The rumor also states that Songbird won’t be the only addition to the team shown in concept art at D23. The Sentry, whose presence in the film has been rumored for some time, and Anthony Ramos‘ Parker Robbins/The Hood are also said to be joining the roster of Thunderbolts in the 2024 film. While there’s no word what role Songbird might fill on the team, she could potentially be another experimental Super Soldier working under the command of CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. With filming only several months away, casting for the film should start to pick up over the next month or two, so fans may not have to wait long to see if this rumor checks out.
Tenoch Huerta’s Namor was one of the highlights of 2022 for Marvel Studios. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler was creative and clever in bringing one of Marvel Comics greatest and earliest characters to life and Huerta gave Namor a power and arrogance that seemed lifted right off the page. While it’s clear Namor will be back, it’s less clear when he’ll be seen again. Though audiences would probably be all in on a Namor-centric spinoff, Marvel Studios Parliament member Nate Moore that, as of now, Disney cannot produce such a project because the character’s live-action rights remain tied up at Universal. That means Namor, much like the Hulk, will have to appear as a supporting character in films or streaming series and Marvel Studios has plenty of those coming up. So where is the Feathered Serpent God likely to show up next? We have some ideas.
Captain America: New World Order and/or Thunderbolts
If the rumors about these two films, which are currently slated to come out back-to-back in 2024, are true then it would be a missed opportunity not to have Namor and Talokan make some sort of appearance. Of course, at present in the MCU (as far as we know) Namor’s underwater kingdom is still hidden from the wide world, with only the Wakandans being aware of its presence. But really, who knows what CIA Director Valentina Allegre de Fontaine knows? As fans have pointed out for some time now, it would make sense for Namor to have some interest in the massive corpse of a Celestial popping up in the ocean and if governments from around the world decide they want to start mining the corpse for its resources, that’s certainly going to lead directly to a more polluted ocean, something that Namor will not stand for. It’s also worth noting that part of the rumored plot of Thunderbolts includes an “evil Superman” who most believe to be Sentry. While the MCU Sentry is surely not going to have the power levels of his comic book counterpart, he might still be too strong for a group of Super Soldiers and non-powered folks to handle. Should the Thunderbolts mission lead to some sort of disruption of the ocean, it’s possible Namor could investigate and end up taking on Sentry.
World War Hulk
While this project still isn’t confirmed by Marvel Studios, the rumors around it are fascinating and there seems to be enough evidence that the trend of more Hulks (She-Hulk introduced 2 new ones in She-Hulk and Skaar) may continue. If/when that movie does hit the big screen, Namor’s presence in it could be of note. If Namor and Talokan are prepared to reveal themselves to the surface world, Namor would have an interesting choice to make. On one hand, he could emerge as a powerful ally in the fight against the Hulk. Namor and Hulk have fought many, many times in the comics and Namor has bested the Green Goliath more than once; on the other hand, he might also prove a powerful ally for Hulk, who he might see as a means to a very specific end: world domination.
Fantastic Four
Namor’s history with the Fantastic Four is so long and storied that it’s honestly hard to conceive of a cinematic universe that doesn’t prioritize their interactions. We don’t know who the villain of 2025’s Fantastic Four is, but it’s probably not Namor. That doesn’t mean, however, that some plot device or another couldn’t lead to the First Family coming into contact with Namor. Namor’s ongoing pursuit of Susan must be given its time in the spotlight!
Defenders
Marvel Studios cannot make a Hulk solo project and Marvel Studios cannot make a Namor solo project. Can Marvel Studios make a Defenders project that features both characters? With Namor now in the MCU, the founding members of Marvel’s most famous non-team are all present. To be honest, being able to throw Hulk and Namor in a movie just because it’s called Defenders instead of Hulk or Namor really seems to show how silly the whole business is, but even if it has to be called Doctor Strange and The Defenders, it still works great for me. With the rumored Silver Surfer project coming ahead of Fantastic Four, maybe he can join the fray as well. Kevin Feige waited a long time to have access to all of these characters, so not assembling them under one of their most well-known titles would seem wasteful.
Avengers: Secret Wars
When the survival of Talokan is on the line, Namor, ready or not, will have to reveal himself to the world. While the plot of Marvel Studios’ Secret Wars hasn’t been revealed yet, the film seems like it may be taking some inspiration from Jonathan Hickman‘s 2015 event where incursions threatened the existence of realities across the Multiverse. If that’s the case and Earth-616 is at risk, Namor would prove a powerful ally to Earth’s heroes. He was seen to be nearly indestructible in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (outside of Shuri’s plan), so keeping a water cooler on hand should relieve those concerns. And appearing in Secret Wars would allow Namor to interact with a handful of heroes he’s never shared the screen with due to right’s issues. Namor and Steve Rogers, anyone?
Marvel Studios’ Eternals is suddenly back in the conversation, and its possible resurgence could open quite a few doors for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A new rumor making the rounds online has the film’s third act impacting several future MCU projects, with 2024’s Thunderbolts at the center of it all. Industry insider Daniel RPK reports that the reformed supervillain team will gather for a trip to Tiamut, the massive Celestial that froze solid in the middle of the ocean at the end of Eternals, which has since become a full-blown island. According to RPK, there’s a chance Tiamut has become a natural supplier of a valuable new resource, Adamantium, which the team and several other parties have grown an interest in. How this could potentially play out is still a mystery, but if true, it might indicate the surprise return of a major Eternals character – Ikaris.
Ikaris, portrayed by Richard Madden in his first cinematic appearance, was last seen flying directly into the sun after betraying his fellow Eternals in the name of Arishem and the Emergence. It was assumed this act of self-punishment resulted in Ikaris’ death, but as Eternals so distinctly showcased, this does not exactly spell the ultimate end of an Eternal. Created by Celestials, the Eternals are built to last, and come with a near-endless amount of backup bodies should their current form be destroyed. It’s not a stretch to imagine Ikaris will make a comeback at some point in the MCU’s next phase, even if it’s not the exact version of the cosmic warrior fans previously saw perish. In fact, if Ikaris’ body was completely melted by the intensity of Earth’s sun, it would stand to reason Arishem and the Celestials would feel there’s enough at stake to send out another Ikaris with a new mind and a new mission. Return to Earth, and protect what’s left of Tiamut.
The Celestials, or at least Arishem, are now keeping a keen eye on Earth and its people. If Tiamut is actually an unexpected means of the MCU gaining Adamantium, the Celestials could view that as an undue advancement of humanity and send Ikaris to prevent the massive changes that might come with societies claiming the alien metal as their own. Whether or not this could make Ikaris the “evil Superman” figure rumored to act as the secret villain of Thunderboltsis, of course, still unknown. Other reports have made claims for the Sentry fitting that role, starting as part of the Thunderbolts roster sent after Tiamut’s Adamantium before losing his mind and becoming the main threat of the film. Perhaps both Sentry and Ikaris will appear in the movie, becoming rivals throughout the story. After all, if Sentry is a major antagonist in the project, the Thunderbolts will need a little extra help from someone a little more powerful if they have any hope of emerging victorious.
Aside from the undeniable “cool factor” of pitting two God-like superbeings against each other, the inclusion of Ikaris in Thunderbolts could also be a very smart “big picture” move on Marvel Studios’ part. If Eternals 2 is indeed coming, and it’s truly based on the recent Judgement Day comics written by Kieron Gillen, then Ikaris’ potential role in Thunderbolts would become a very useful throughline between the Eternals and the wider MCU. Judgement Day features a conflict between the Eternals, the Avengers, and the X-Men, over new discoveries in the Eternals’ purpose and the mutants’ gene code. If Tiamut is actually destined to transform into Genosha and play a role in the impending mutant side of the MCU, having a version of Ikaris aware of the way it affects the planet would act as an excellent prelude to an Eternals: Judgement Day film. Maybe, if Marvel Studios really wanted to get crazy, they could even have Ikaris’ meddling on “Genosha” factor into the island’s mutant evolution. It’s important to remember these are all just rumors at the moment. However, the events of Eternals and the franchise’s future playing such a vital role in the MCU would be a wonderfully unexpected way to resolve the Eternals’ arc and push the greater universe forward in a creative manner.
Marvel Studios’ Phase 5 slate kicks off in less than two months with Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania and concludes in the Fall of 2024 with Deadpool 3. Phase 5 will explore cryptic MCU divisions such as the Quantum Realm, the supernatural and, of course, the Multiverse. It will also tackle some geopolitical stories and the real world-building will be done by two movies that will come back-to-back in 2024: Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts.
A fourth Captain America project was confirmed to be in the works at SDCC ’22 after Sam Wilson picked up the shield in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Set to be directed by Julius Onah and scribed by Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson, the film will see the return of Tim Blake Nelson‘s Samuel Sterns as the villain after nearly 16 years of absence from the MCU.
A new rumor from insider Daniel RPK continues to tie the two films together. The rumor states that the plot of Captain America: New World Order will focus on an international conflict over Adamantium, discovered on Tiamut. Harrison Ford‘s Thunderbolt Ross (the POTUS) will join in on the Adamantium Rush and be the main antagonist of the film. Sam Wilson will oppose his plan and assemble a new team of superheroes to put an end to his scheme. This rumor didn’t spring up long after another rumor, very similar to this one, surfaced on the internet. The only difference between the two was that the other rumor described the situation from the Thunderbolts’ perspective, suggesting that both movies might be part of the same duology of a major power struggle over Genosha.
Captain America: New World Order releases in theaters on May 3, 2024. Thunderbolts arrives in theaters on July 26, 2024.
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