Marvel are being careful with who they assemble with Thunderbolts*, an unconventional team of anti-heroes who, after finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their past.
As the Thunderbolts – Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker – continue the lineage of epic big screen adventures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Peter Gray was invited to the global press conference to hear the cast and crew of creatives behind the film talk about bringing this unique crew of anti-heroes to life for the first time.
Marvel maestro Kevin Feige, director Jake Schreier, composers Son Lux, and cast members Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, Wyatt Russell, Geraldine Viswanathan and Julia Louis-Dreyfus touched on performing their own stunts, exploring the depths of their characters in a manner unlike they’ve experienced before, how music became its own character, and its allegorical commentary on depression.
Florence Pugh really did perform that stunt!
Speaking on the immersive aspect of the film, the Academy Award nominated actress had to clarify that as much as she performed the stunt that opens the film where her character, Yelena Belova, steps off the roof of the Merdeka 118 Skyscraper in Kuala Lampur, she can’t claim all of the stunt work featured across Thunderbolts*. And as physically demanding as it was, it was the emotional aspect of Yelena’s state of mind that resonated stronger.
“When you’re reading it on a page, it did feel like she was stepping off a building alongside with the voiceover as if she was taking her own life. And when I read it, I just remember thinking how powerful it was to start a movie like that, and the trust that clearly everybody was already having in putting a potential stunt in a script like that from many, many months before we started shooting. I was just so impressed by it. And I also was just so impressed instantly how, as an audience member, we knew exactly where she was feeling. And it was only because she’s obviously an assassin that she can land it.”
David Harbour’s character really loves being a superhero
Returning to the superhero fray alongside his Black Widow cohort Pugh, David Harbour suits up as Red Guardian in Thunderbolts*, and much like how the actor is enjoying his time working alongside such a talented cast, his character balances an inner child quality with a certain darkness that comes with Red Guardian’s past failures.
“There is a portion of me, as I act, that has a very detailed backstory, (with) dark things to it. And then there’s also just me as a kid putting on a super suit, like in a Marvel movie, sitting with all these amazing, incredible actors.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus got to explore the depths of her “anti-villain”
Much like how Louis-Dreyfus views the Thunderbolts as “anti-heroes”, she looks at her contessa-cum-CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine as an “anti-villain.” And after dipping her toe in and out of previous Marvel projects (the series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a post-credit cameo in Black Widow, and the Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever), the Emmy Award winning actress enjoyed that she had more to chew on and explore this time around.
“I think that you get an opportunity to understand maybe why she is the way she is. And (it) doesn’t necessarily excuse things, but it’s understanding. And frankly, it’s the way you approach a character under all circumstances, whether they’re so-called good guy or bad guy, which is without judgment. So that was a really exciting way to approach Valentina and her drive.”
Geraldine Viswanathan thinks Thunderbolts* has the same classic Marvel feeling as the original Avengers movie
The Australian actress is very aware of the meta aspect to a line of dialogue said by her character, Mel, Valentina’s assistant, that she was in high school when the Avengers came to save the day, as the actress herself was in high school when the first Avengers film was released. And it’s the mentality of that film that Viswanathan believes Thunderbolts* emulates, noting its emotional nuance and depth.
“I just feel so fortunate to enter the universe in this particular movie, which just feels like such a breath of fresh air. When I first got to watch this movie, I got to watch it as an audience member, (because) there’s a lot that I’m not in. I cried a bunch. Like it really landed on me. So I’m excited for people to also have that experience in theaters and hug their loved ones afterwards.”
The film comments on depression
Pullman, who plays the mysterious Bob, mentioned that one of the big hopes of the film from director Schreier and producer Feige was that it generated conversations around anxiety and depression, but in a manner that never felt like a PSA. With a large scale film like Thunderbolts* Pullman knew that there was a line that needed to be toed in discussing lesser broached topics.
“(It’s) not a fun thing to talk about, so it feels weird to even say out loud right now. But, I think, that was a big goal in this film to get rid of that weird, quaky feeling that you get when you bring it up and when you talk about it. That’s what this movie’s all about. And if you have people around you, it’s in the silence where the suffering really occurs.”
John Walker and Ghost have matured since we last saw them
Also returning from other Marvel projects, John-Kamen’s Ghost and Russell’s John Walker are in far more mature encapsulations than when we last saw them in Ant-Man and the Wasp and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, respectively.
After noting how the imminent pain and death she was dealing with in the Ant-Man sequel led her character to make immature, desperate decisions to survive the volatile, volcanic disruption of her physicality, the Ghost of Thunderbolts* is a woman far more in control.
“Her maturity of control and power, and being able to control herself is dangerous. I think she’s scarier in this movie. It’s empowering not having that distraction of pain and imminent death anymore. And she’s very much built (this) Fort Knox of herself, which is basically this guard that she has very much up and no one can come in.”
For Russell, he views John Walker through the topical lens of instant fame-gaining and that his momentary Captain America moment was born out of selfish reasons, someone who would jump on a grenade if enough people saw him in the act itself. When describing the Thunderbolts* version of John Walker, he likened his mentality to the type of societal figures who don’t do anything for selfless reasons, where there’s hope for Instagram or TikTok fame.
“You gotta get torn down and hit rock bottom before you can start your journey back to somewhere you want to be, or present yourself as the person you want to be. I don’t think I’m very much like John, but I definitely knew a lot of people that were like John in a prior life playing athletics and sports for a living. You have to be that way. You have to put on an armor and you have to just put all your vulnerabilities to the side. You don’t ever admit that you’re feeling bad.”
Sebastian Stan looks at his character, Winter Soldier, as the sibling he never had
Recent Academy Award nominated Stan has been playing Winter Soldier since 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, and with such a long history, the actor has become quite emotionally attached to the character. And part of the appeal in reprising his role here was that Winter Soldier, like the other Thunderbolts, feels like a real person, despite the fantastical realms the film exists in.
“(These characters) wear their hearts on their sleeve, and they’re trying to do the right thing and they don’t know if they have the tools or not. You start off with this topic of “What’s a villain and what’s a hero?” My character’s always been riding that fine line and trying to figure it out himself without losing who he is. That’s what we do in life, we learn from (our) past. You have to keep moving forward…and so I think it was a great place for me to jump into with everybody here.”
The musical score was treated as if it was a character in the film itself
American experimental band Son Lux, who composed the score to Everything Everywhere All at Once, provide the music for Thunderbolts*, layering the film with an atmospheric sound that feels very much like it’s a character all on its own. Director Schreier commented on the band’s intelligence and how even through the film’s table read they were already composing certain sonic representations for each character.
“They’re so connected to emotion. I think the thing that we did, and that I like to do with movies is, often movies are made with temporary score, where you shoot the movie, you go into the edit, and you score it with other scores. Then you go in with your composer and it’s very hard to get away from that. So what they were good enough to do here is we started making the score for the movie before we ever went out and shot it.”
Kevin Feige knows there’s something Fantastic on its way, but he wants to let everyone meet the Thunderbolts first
Feige, President of the MCU, is all too aware that Avengers: Doomsday and Fantastic Four are on people’s minds. Ever able to get away with non-answers, he let it be known that the new Avengers movie starts shooting this coming Monday.
“The Avengers movies are always about incredible actors who have never met before on screen meeting for the first time and interacting in ways that they’ve never interacted before. That’s my favourite part of Avengers movies. (And) there’s already been a little taste of that with some of (this cast). That’s what’s next, and it’s very exciting.”
Thunderbolts* is screening in Australian theatres from May 1st, 2025, before opening in the United States on May 2nd.
