The latest news to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the confirmation of a long-rumored project — a film starring Marvel’s resident anti-hero team, the Thunderbolts. Deadline recently reported that Jake Schrier will be directing the film, with Black Widow screenwriter Eric Pearson handling the script.
While the film’s release date and plot are still unknown, it seems that it will focus on a team of reformed (or at least supposedly reformed) villains who join forces to fight other evildoers, similar to DC’s Suicide Squad. And looking at the potential members listed by Deadline, the long-suspected fan theory that Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) will be the mastermind behind the team is looking likelier than ever. But since the final roster of the Thunderbolts is still yet to be confirmed, it’s time to take a closer look at the prospective members to find out who’s most likely to join the team.
Baron Zemo
One of the biggest names on the list of possible Thunderbolts members is Baron Helmut Zemo, the villain of Captain America: Civil War. Zemo immediately became a hit with fans thanks to his clever, determined personality and his sympathetic motives, which were brilliantly brought to life by the performance of Daniel Brühl. His popularity only grew when he returned in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — not as an antagonist, but as an unlikely ally to the heroes. As such, it’s easy to imagine Zemo taking on an anti-hero role once again as part of the Thunderbolts.
Of course, it’s also important to note that the Baron Zemo of the comics is the original leader of the Thunderbolts, giving him a close association with the team to this day. So even though Zemo would no doubt despise the notion of working with Super-Soldiers like US Agent or Abomination, it’s likely that he’ll be coerced by Val into joining the team anyway. After all, it’s hard to imagine a Thunderbolts movie without Baron Zemo playing a major role.
Yelena Belova
One of last year’s biggest breakout characters of the MCU, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) made her debut as Natasha Romanoff’s adoptive sister, a fellow victim of the Red Room and its Black Widow Program. But despite her traumatic background, Yelena’s charming personality has won the hearts of countless fans. And as revealed in the post-credits scene of Black Widow, Yelena is already an associate of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the most likely benefactor of the Thunderbolts. It’s unknown what state Yelena and Val’s relationship is in after the events of Hawkeye, but considering she’s already been set up as a potential recruit, it’d be more surprising if she didn’t end up joining the team. And of course, it helps that Yelena’s comic counterpart joined the Thunderbolts during the Dark Reign storyline.
Ghost
Speaking of, Ghost is another character who’s been a mainstay of the comic book Thunderbolts. Of course, the comic Ghost is an unscrupulous corporate saboteur with no known name, who bears little resemblance to his MCU counterpart. The movie Ghost, aka Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), is the main antagonist of Ant-Man and the Wasp, though she’s not exactly a traditional supervillain. Her goal isn’t anything nefarious, but simply to cure her own deadly condition — a goal that’s accomplished by the end of the film. Now that a normal life is within Ava’s grasp again, it’s unlikely that she’d want to return to her old life as a superpowered killer. Plus, she’s not exactly a popular villain, making her inclusion less probable — though still certainly plausible.
Taskmaster
From one genderbent villain to another, we have Taskmaster, Natasha’s primary nemesis in Black Widow. In the comics, Taskmaster is a cocky, cunning mercenary named Tony Masters — however, the character was reinvented for the MCU as Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko), a brainwashed assassin for the Red Room. Within the film’s narrative, Taskmaster works well as a personal antagonist for Natasha, serving as the living embodiment of her dark past. Even so, many fans were upset by just how different the MCU’s Taskmaster was from her comic counterpart.
But now that Antonia is free from her father’s brainwashing, future MCU projects have the opportunity to take her character in a new direction. It’s entirely possible that she could reappear in Thunderbolts as a hired gun with a confident new personality. And thanks to Kurylenko’s role in Quantum of Solace, it’s clear that she has what it takes to portray a capable, charismatic killer like comic Taskmaster. And since Taskmaster was briefly a member of the comic Thunderbolts during the King in Black arc, Antonia’s inclusion also has comic precedent.
Abomination
Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), aka the Abomination, made his unexpected return to the MCU last year after a 13-year absence. The Hulk’s arch-nemesis made a brief cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, facing off against Wong in Xialing’s underground fight club. Judging by his interactions with Wong, Abomination seems to be much more mellow these days compared to his bloodthirsty past. But even so, it’s hard to judge Blonsky’s current state until we see more of him in the upcoming She-Hulk series. Out of all the proposed Thunderbolts members, Abomination is the biggest wild card. He’s never been a member in the comics, so it’s too soon to say whether he’ll be willing to be a team player.
U.S. Agent
Another obvious choice for the roster is John Walker (Wyatt Russell), aka U.S. Agent. This dark mirror of Captain America was one of the most popular aspects of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — the kind of character who fans both love and love to hate. And now that he’s under Val’s employ with a new suit and codename, it’s clear that we haven’t seen the last of Walker. As such, it’s all but confirmed that he’ll be appearing in the Thunderbolts film.
Winter Soldier
Bucky Barnes is by far the biggest name on the list of potential Thunderbolts members, but he’s also the least likely to join the team from an in-universe standpoint. While Bucky has indeed led the Thunderbolts in the comics, it was a very different team than the one we’ll likely be getting in the MCU. And with Bucky finally putting his dark past as the Winter Soldier behind him in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it’s doubtful that he’d be willing to return to his life as an assassin so readily. With Bucky on the path to becoming a true hero, it’d be strange to see him associating with a bunch of anti-heroes and villains. So even though he’d be a big draw for the film, it’s hard to see Bucky joining the Thunderbolts at this point in his character arc.