Thunderbolts (2025)

Another installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thunderbolts is a 2025 film loosely based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The film stars William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk, Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool, Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson/Agent Venom, Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher, Norman Reedus as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider, Elodie Yung as Elektra Natchios, Abigail Wright/Mercy, Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/Red Leader, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Synopsis
Undersecretary Thaddeus Ross brings together a team in the absence of the Avengers.

Plot
Frank Castle is seen in New York City in a shootout with some hitmen. Frank manages to kill all the hitmen. Suddenly, U.S. Agent showed up at the scene of the shootout and tells Frank to come with him. Frank refuses at first but Walker threatened to throw him back in prison unless he comes with them. Meanwhile, Flash Thompson is on a mission in Somalia fighting terrorists led by the Sheik. After Flash completed his mission, a helicopter came to pick him up. Major Kathleen Sparr, who was onboard the helicopter, said that Undersecretary Ross would like to speak to him.

Ross is having a conversation with Nick Fury about putting together another team in the absence of the Avengers. Ross tells Fury the backstory of the potential members of his team. Fury suggested using Zemo, Yelena Belova, Taskmaster, Justin Hammer, Abomination, and Ghost, but Ross dismissed his suggestions. Later, the Punisher, Agent Venom, Elektra, and Deadpool arrived and were introduced to General Ross, Nick Fury, and Abigail Wright.

Cast
William Hurt as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross/Red Hulk

Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool

Tony Revolori as Eugene "Flash" Thompson/Agent Venom

Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher

Norman Reedus as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider

Élodie Yung as Elektra Natchios

Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/Red Leader

Abigail Wright/Mercy

Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent

Christina Cabot as Kathleen Sparr

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Mephisto

The Sheik

Demak Tengku

Sabtu

Adolf Hitler

Wilson Bethel as Benjamin Poindexter/Bullseye (hologram only)

Jeremy Bobb as Gregory Sallinger/Foolkiller (hologram only)

Alice Eve as Mary Walker (hologram only)

Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost (photograph only)

Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova/Crimson Widow (photograph only)

Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/Abomination (photograph only)

Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer (photograph only)

Tony Masters/Taskmaster (photograph only)

Daniel Brühl as Helmut Zemo (photograph only)

Melissa Gold/Songbird (photograph only)

Karla Sofen/Moonstone (photograph only)

Development
Marvel Studios and The Walt Disney Co. opted to not to pursue a sequel to A-Force, so they decided to make a film based on the Thunderbolts. Quentin Tarantino was hired by The Walt Disney Co. and Marvel Studios to write, direct, and produce a Thunderbolts film along with Tarantino writing, directing, and producing an R-rated Star Wars film for Lucasfilm, an R-rated Pirates of the Caribbean with a female lead, a live-action Assassin's Creed film that would take place during World War II, and a Tarzan film, and of course with Jane. Madman, Titanium Man, Supergiant, and Zemo were considered to be villains for the film before General Awa was confirmed as a major villain and Mercy was picked as the main antagonist.

The movie received a $150 million dollar budget.

Pre-Production
Marvel and Disney executives wanted Quentin Tarantino to use Red Hulk, Songbird, Moonstone, Justin Hammer, Ghost, Yelena Belova, Abomination, and Taskmaster for the film, but Tarantino claimed that he responded by saying, "f*ck that." However, Tarantino did decide to use Red Hulk for the film, along with Deadpool, the Punisher, Ghost Rider, Elektra, Agent Venom, Red Leader, and Mercy. William Hurt, Ryan Reynolds, Jon Bernthal, Élodie Yung, Tony Revolori, and Tim Blake Nelson were confirmed to be reprising their roles as Thaddeus Ross, the Punisher, Elektra, Flash Thompson, and Samuel Sterns, respectively, in the film. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt were both approached by Tarantino for roles in the film, which they both turned down. Samuel L. Jackson, Wyatt Russell, and Christina Cabot were also confirmed to appear in the film as Nick Fury, U.S. Agent, and Major Kathleen Sparr, respectively. Samuel L. Jackson said that he "couldn't be more happy about working with Quentin again." Tarantino had also considered Bullseye, Typhoid Mary, Foolkiller, and Luke Cage for the film, but decided to scrap the idea. Additionally, Tarantino said, "I f*cking love Luke and I wanted him to be in the movie, but I couldn't find a way to fit him in." Executives from both Marvel and Disney reluctantly allowed Tarantino to make the film R-rated.

Filming
Filming began in early-2024 in Georgia, while some scenes were filmed in New York City and Paris. Much of the movie was shot in Georgia, which was used as the location for Kata Jaya.

Music
For the film, songs including "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads, "Still" by the Ghetto Boys, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles, "Sympathy for the Devil", by the Rolling Stones, and "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" by DMX.

Reception
The movie received a 10/10 on IMDb, a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from both critics and viewers, and a 10/10 on Metacritic. The film grossed $2.5 billion dollars. Martin Scorsese referred to Quentin Tarantino's Thunderbolts as "a work of cinema, I would highly recommend watching this movie and I would definitely want to direct a Marvel movie in the future", while Francis Ford Coppola referred to the film as "the Apocalypse Now of its days." Additionally, Bong Joon-ho claimed that after watching the film, he would "love to direct a Marvel film himself." Christopher Nolan and Todd Phillips both claimed that the movie had brought them to tears, with Nolan describing it as "a work of art for ages to enjoy." Zack Snyder recommended that "all of his fans need to watch this movie deeply."

Additonally, the movie won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writer in the Academy Awards.