11 hours Ago By Madeline Lapreziosa
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has need of revitalization following the mediocre reception of Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts* can provide that spark. The MCU’s newest movie spotlights Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as Captain America for the first time on the big screen, while introducing new characters like Red Hulk (Harrison Ford), Sabra (Shira Haas), Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), and Copperhead (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson). The MCU’s next movie, Thunderbolts*, differs in that its core team of antiheroes have already appeared in the franchise before.
Consisting of 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), Thunderbolts* main characters will converge to take on a dangerous mission under the direction of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Freyfus) in the Jake Schreier-directed film.Much of Brave New World’s criticism targets the movie’s incorporation of too many new characters and inability to give them all enough to do. Thunderbolts* has the potential to improve in that area, as the movie fixates on recurring characters and continuations of their already established stories.
The MCU has gone without a truly impressive non-sequel movie for quite some time, and Thunderbolts* promises to turn things around.[RELATED – How SPOILER’s Captain America: Brave New World Story Sets Up Their Thunderbolts* Role]Thunderbolts* Won’t Repeat Captain America: Brave New World‘s ShortcomingsAlthough other MCU movies have succeeded in introducing multiple new characters, Captain America: Brave New World simply took on more than it could handle. An overabundance of players in its narrative rendered the film overly convoluted, and most of the new characters were not adequately developed by the end.
On the contrary, Thunderbolts* relies on familiarity with its characters rather than bringing in multiple major figures for the first time. Only Sentry (Lewis Pullman) stands as a key new addition to the MCU in Thunderbolts*, thus the film shouldn’t have trouble completing his introduction. Accordingly, Thunderbolts* will likely avoid feeling overstuffed like Brave New World.
Based on the movie’s trailers and currently available plot information, it appears that the main characters in Thunderbolts* will be together a lot, indicating that the story won’t jump around too much. Moreover, Thunderbolts* enters the MCU as a standalone film rather than a genuine sequel, despite its many returning personalities. Thus, Thunderbolts* can resume the individual storylines of Yelena, Bucky, Alexei, John, Ava, and Antonia while building their relationships with each other.
Brave New World‘s status as a follow-up project to the 2021 Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier meant that audiences had homework to do before watching the film despite its inclusion of so many new faces.Thunderbolts*, on the other hand, will certainly intrigue those who have seen Black Widow, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and other relevant titles, but new viewers shouldn’t have trouble understanding the movie, as much of the entire team is appearing on screen for the first time together. Even though there are some prior links between Yelena and Alexei and Bucky and John, for example, the primary appeal of Thunderbolts* remains its offering of both familiar and fresh elements.
The upcoming film could reinvigorate the MCU given that most of the franchise’s recent movies have been sequels.Thunderbolts* Can Pave the Way for the MCU’s Future MoviesAs a true team-up movie involving existing non-Avengers characters from different corners of the MCU, Thunderbolts* is attempting a concept rarely before seen in the franchise. 2023’s The Marvels orchestrated a similar idea, although it involves a smaller team of three rather than a squad of seven in Thunderbolts*.
If the structure of Thunderbolts* succeeds, the MCU should look to organize unique team-ups in future movies. Implementing this strategy more often would enable fan-favorite characters to compile more appearances closer together. The morally gray heroes of Thunderbolts* aren’t likely to feature prominently (if at all) in the MCU’s upcoming big events, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, so this type of grounded projects allows them to shine both individually and as a group without forcing them into any major overarching narrative.
All in all, Thunderbolts* boasts enormous potential as a standalone character-driven story that draws excitement from fans’ knowledge of its characters.Captain America: Brave New World is now playing in theaters. Thunderbolts* opens in theaters on May 2nd.
Are you looking forward to Thunderbolts*? Let us know in the comments below!The post How Thunderbolts* Can Turn the MCU Around After Captain America: Brave New World appeared first on ComicBook.com..
