Can 'Thunderbolts' save Marvel from another 'Brave New World'-style mess
What's the story
After the lukewarm reception of Captain America: Brave New World, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is gearing up for the release of its next film, Thunderbolts, on May 2.
Captain America 4 stars Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as Captain America and brings in Red Hulk (Harrison Ford), Sabra (Shira Haas), Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), and Copperhead (Johannes Haukur Johannesson).
Unlike them, Thunderbolts will center on a team of antiheroes who have already appeared in the MCU.
Character continuity
'Thunderbolts' to continue established character arcs
The upcoming film, Thunderbolts, will likely rectify the criticism Brave New World received for introducing too many new characters without proper development.
The movie will focus on familiar faces like Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost/Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster/Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko).
They'll team up under Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) leadership in a dangerous mission helmed by Jake Schreier.
Storyline progression
'Thunderbolts' to continue individual storylines, build relationships
Thunderbolts will pick up where the individual stories of Yelena, Bucky, Alexei, John, Ava, and Antonia left off, while also building their relationships with one another.
This is different from Brave New World's position as a sequel to the 2021 Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Although it's a standalone film with many familiar faces from different corners of the MCU, Thunderbolts isn't a direct sequel but a continuation of existing stories.
Audience appeal
'Thunderbolts' to attract both new and existing viewers
The upcoming film is bound to attract both new and existing viewers.
While it will definitely pique the interest of those who have watched Black Widow, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man and The Wasp, etc., new viewers shouldn't have a problem following the movie.
This is because most of the team is coming on screen together for the first time, offering a blend of familiar and new.
The only new character being introduced is Sentry (Lewis Pullman).
Team-up concept
'Thunderbolts' to explore unique team-up concept
By teaming up with existing non-Avengers characters, Thunderbolts is trying something we rarely see in the MCU.
It was attempted in 2023's The Marvels—starring Brie Larson as Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel), Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani (Kamala Khan) as Ms. Marvel—but with a smaller team.
If it works, this format could prompt the MCU to set up unique team-ups in future movies, bringing fan-favorite characters together more often.