Not only do we have a new Captain America and the Fantastic Four coming to us soon from Marvel, but we also have the odd-but-intriguing project, THUNDERBOLTS* premiering smack dab between the tent-pole franchises on May 5th of next year. The movie has already wrapped filming and is currently in post-production with trailers having already been released.
THUNDERBOLTS* brings back characters from past MCU entries such as Red Guardian and Yelena Belova, the Winter Solider, and John Walker (aka fake Captain America) – with David Harbour’s Red Guardian taking a central role. It’s already been reported that Yelena is the main focus of the film, and Red Guardian is her father so his presence will most likely be very ingrained into the story as well. As timing just so happens to have it, Harbour is also playing a character (Eric Frankenstein) in James Gunn’s new show on HBO Max, Creature Commandos, and had an opportunity to talk Marvel while doing press for the HBO series.
While talking to CinemaBlend about Creature Commandos, he was of course also asked about THUNDERBOLTS* to which he says he has already seen a first cut and is very impressed with the project so far:
“Marvel is excited by its expansion, to a certain degree. And also, I think they’re doing a bit of a course correction around getting too big, in a way, with the Disney Plus stuff. I’m very excited for you guys to see Thunderbolts*. Because I’m impressed with the direction they took that. And it’s surprising. It’s a real movie. I mean, whether you like it or not, who knows? But, I saw a cut of it, and it’s very impressive.“
Harbour is talking about the recent course correction that Marvel has taken lately, trying to make sense of the slew of shows that were released on Disney+ all within a very short period of time. That mixed with a cinematic universe that was losing its focus, and the actor is very justified in everything he said. It’s promising that he thinks this is a step in the right direction for the studio, because this movie is surrounded by some heavy hitters with Captain America Brave New World coming out directly before in March, and Fantastic Four First Steps being released right after in July. This Suicide Squad-esque middle child might just be the right beat to take between its Avenger’s sandwich release date.
Harbour continues to talk about the film, saying it’s about the chemistry. It looks like it’s going to be an ensemble character-driven movie, as it does not contain any of the MCU’s more outrageous elements (that we know of), while looking to present itself with a much more grounded tone.
“They’re paying attention to chemistry. And I think there’s something about this group that’s special. That to me felt like when you watch Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. When you watch these chemistries of people that – not to say that there’s romantic ties, but just the chemistry of human beings interrelated. I think that’s what we need in these movies.”
He then went on to give some kind words the film’s director, Jake Schreier:
“And I’m so happy that Jake, the director, was so intent on capturing that. So intent on preserving that, and made that a priority. I was like, ‘Oof, this is good.”
THUNDERBOLTS* will be a much different type of project than anything else Marvel has given us in the past, putting a team of (kind of) villains in the hero role and seeing where it goes. What could go wrong? Are you excited for THUNDERBOLTS*? Sound off on our social media and let us know!