The Thunderbolts are go! Marvel Studios' new team of super-powered individuals are set to deliver one of this summer's most entertaining showdowns when Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine seemingly unites them to save the world from a new evil.
Thunderbolts* will be the second release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year, coming after this month's Captain America: Brave New World. It will feature an array of recognizable MCU characters, including Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), John Walker / US Agent (Wyatt Russell), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) in a movie that is very much being billed as Marvel's Suicide Squad.
That is clearer than ever in the film's new trailer, which made its presence felt after its Big Game Spot during the Super Bowl LIX, showcasing a very new look at the film. Watch it below:
Unlikely heroes unite
The premise of Thunderbolts* is well-established at this point. Some of the MCU's most unlikely heroes will team up to take on a brand new threat that only they can face. This is the third trailer, so we needed a little more than that. The good news is that we got it, as the trailer showcases Val speaking to congress and telling them that the Thunderbolts are needed simply because the Avengers are not coming to save them this time. It seems that she is also speaking on behalf of Bucky, who is sitting behind her.
That seemingly leads to Bucky going out of his way to kidnap his future teammates. We knew from previous trailers that he would attack them in a very Terminator-esque fashion and now it seems that he does it with, um, the best of intentions. Yep, he needs them to team up with him. And that's an unexpected twist considering we know that the Thunderbolts will seemingly bond over the fact that they had been set up to die. So who's working for who, and what is really going on? Who knows at this point.
The rest of the trailer is pretty much what you'd expect from these guys. Struggles, action, fighting, and mess, as they attempt to figure out how they could ever replace the Avengers when none of them can fly and they are seemingly up against a, well, super man (more on him later).
They aren't cut out for this madness, but they will find a way to persist. Because that's who they are; they are the Thunderbolts (even if they don't love the name) and they will scratch, and claw, and fight, and do whatever it takes to win. They're scrappier than the Avengers, and that might just allow them to win this battle.
The Void / Sentry makes a terrifying debut
One of the main aspects of Thunderbolts* that fans are excited to see is the arrival of Sentry. Lewis Pullman will be playing the character and we already met a version of him in the first two trailers for the movie who calls himself Bob. However, the Sentry has a darker alter-ego known as The Void, and well, he makes his presence felt in the new trailer.
A dark entity complete with his own cape, The Void wreaks some supernatural havoc on the city below, eradicating innocent bystanders around him. That's enough to make the Thunderbolts take action as they swoop in to try and stop him. However, in what was probably the most unexpected part of the trailer, The Void is able to rip Bucky Barnes' metallic, vibranium-made, indestructible arm straight out of its socket.
It goes without saying that the Thunderbolts have a tall task ahead of them if they want to stop basically an evil Superman, but as the trailer indicates, it's going to take the might and expertise of all of them to make it happen. Here's hoping they can do it because, without the Avengers, these guys are the world's only hope!
Val has bought Avengers Tower
We all suspected it, we all thought it; and now the new Thunderbolts* trailer has confirmed it. Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has indeed purchased the former Stark-turned-Avengers Tower.
The trailer shows us New York City with that famous building standing tall among the countless skyscrapers. The helipad is still intact, and it looks mostly the same (you know, except for the fact that the signature A is no longer there). And shortly after that, the Thunderbolts arrive in an elevator to confront Val - the scene that was pretty much at the center of the previous trailer.
It's not a huge focal point in the trailer, but it's definitely something worth pointing out. Marvel Studios wanted us to see it. They wanted us to know. Now, the question is: Is Val worthy of the Thunderbolts' trust, or is there more going on here?
This film can't come quick enough!
Thunderbolts* is released in movie theaters on May 2, 2025.