The new kid on the block known as Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts has been stirring up quite the speculation storm among the fandom. Enticing audiences with the potential of a villain-focused movie, it looks like it just might be the shake-up needed to keep things fresh in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But interested folks still don't quite know what to expect.
That's where fan artists come in. When Thunderbolts was announced with director Jake Schreier, even that much info was only enough to intrigue fans of Schreier's works like the curious Robot & Frank. But the comics that inspired it quickly got fans into some fascinating discussions, particularly given how certain characters have already been teased as potential stars for the film. So a few of the more creative sorts decided to channel that speculation into a visual medium.
Digital artist Rahal Nejraoui was among the quickest to leap into action. Using the various Marvel characters speculated as part of the potential Thunderbolts roster, they created a rather convincing theoretical poster for the movie. Fans will quickly recognize Wyatt Russell as John Walker/US Agent, whose return after appearing on the Disney Plus series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has been pretty heavily teased. But others in the artwork should easily inspire just as much excitement.
The eclectic team of potential anti-heroes also includes Taskmaster and Yelena Belova from Black Widow, Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp, Abomination from The Incredible Hul, and the upcoming She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and both Bucky Barnes and Baron Zemo, last seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It's an eclectic bunch, to be sure, and even if only half of them turn out to actually be in the movie, it's sure to be one heck of a ride. At the very least, maybe Baron Zemo will get another dance party started.
The Thunderbolts comics follow a team of reformed supervillains originally started by Baron Zemo as a decidedly less-than-beneficial group. Many fans likely guessed that an MCU adaptation was coming when Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine began recruiting characters like the disgraced John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Yelena in Black Widow. It doesn't take much imagination to see similarities between Thunderbolts and DC's Suicide Squad, which follows a team of supervillains forced to do some heroic dirty work. But in the case of Thunderbolts, it appears the characters' involvement is far more voluntary.
At the very least, it looks as though John Walker and Yelena Belova are all but confirmed for the team. But the rest of Nejraoui's picks also seem like pretty solid choices. Odds are that more news will be revealed soon regarding the official Thunderbolts roster, so here's hoping it's close to as hype-worthy as this piece of fan art is.
Thunderbolts is in development at Marvel Studios.
Source: rahalarts/Instagram