Cast, release date and everything we know

Marvel’s next Rays* is scheduled for release in 2025, bringing to life the MCU’s first villain team-up film. Long before the official announcement, the concept of a Thunderbolts movie had drawn strong speculation from longtime Marvel readers and viewers for years. During Phase 4 of the MCU, audiences deduced that someone might be in the works thanks to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s sneaky recruiting activities throughout The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow. Certainly, many Rays* cast members were confirmed at the 2022 D23 Expo, including Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes.

Since the rest of Rays* the team is made up of pre-existing characters from the MCU timeline, there’s a chance more characters will appear from other shows and films. Here it is everything to know about Rays*, from its release date to the MCU Thunderbolts lineup and its comic book origins.

Thunderbolts* Latest News

A new trailer highlights the team

A special new look for Rays* was released for D23 Brasil, delving a little deeper into the story and exploring the team members. Perhaps the most important aspect of this special look is the entire group dynamics at play. Ensemble films only work as well as the characters in them and Rays* it looks like it will take every character that has already been explored in other films and take them in new directions.

One of the most interesting parts of the new special look is the idea that Bucky appears to join the team later, after Yelena, Red Guardian, Ghost, and US Agent begin working together. It appears he is hunting them, but the reason is still unknown. The dynamic between Bucky and Red Guardian seems to be one of the highlights of the film, as they are shown to bond over being super soldiers.

Rays* Film release date

A Summer 2025 Slot

THE Rays* film announced its director, Jake Schreier, in 2022, and Black WidowEric Pearson was chosen to write the script. The film was scheduled to begin shooting in June 2023, with the current Rays* the official release date is May 2, 2025putting it between Captain America: Brave New World launch in February 2025, and The Fantastic FourPremieres in July 2025.

This date has been changed more than once, with the previous release dates being July 26, 2024, December 20, 2024, July 25, 2025, and May 5, 2025, respectively. Rays* has moved back and forth in terms of its place on the release schedule, but the villainous team-up film is now set to close out Phase 5 of the MCU, putting it in an especially important position as Phase 6 will contain changing tastes. permanently the universe. of Avengers: Judgment Day and The Fantastic Four.

Rays* Film cast

A group of familiar faces

The official cast of Rays* was announced at the 2022 D23 Expo and is packed with recognizable faces that leave little room for more surprising returns. THE Rays* The MCU lineup includes Contessa Val (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who appears to be taking on the role of Rays* leader. Joining her are Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and of course, Sebastian Stan. like Bucky Barnes.

The 2023 announcements of Ayo Edebiri and Steven Yeun’s cast additions have also seen more recent changesas in February 2024 it was revealed that both actors would be leaving the cast, with Ayo Edebiri being replaced in her undisclosed role by Geraldine Viswanathan, who was seen in the trailer, and Yeun’s reported role as Sentinel being played by Lewis Pullman.

Rays* History of the film

Uniting us for a greater purpose

Currently plot details for Rays* are not well known except for the teaser trailer. However, there are many directions the MCU could go with the Rays*especially since his team has been a part of so many different stories and arcs in the franchise. With most of the characters already established, the film can avoid any origin story. Furthermore, most of the Thunderbolt members in the film are already much more likable than their comic book counterparts, suggesting that the film will avoid portraying them as villains at first and simply make them anti-heroes.

All footage shown on Rays* so far supports the idea that the team will be brought together by Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine. The special visual also seemingly confirms that she was the one who bought the Avengers tower. It also sheds light on the individual histories of many of the characters in question, with Yelena seeking out Alexei for possibly the first time since the events of Black Widow, Bucky being seen at congress, and US Agent being shown with a child at home.

It’s also worth noting that the teaser features a fight sequence between some of the heroes, apparently before they become a group. The fact that the footage also shows the characters fighting reinforces the idea that the team will be at odds at the start of the film. Rays* – something in line with your list, as it’s unlikely that figures like Yelena and US Agent would immediately see eye to eye from their first meeting.

This works to set the stage for the team to come together throughout the film, as in The Avengersor potentially justifies the group working less efficiently against whatever opponent they are pitted against in the story. Taking this approach would make sense if Pullman’s character was in fact Sentinel, as his immense powers would make most threats trivial without adding complications to how he can use his abilities – and having conflict with his own team would certainly make this more complicated. .

What they might face is unclear, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the story of Rays* film set around one or two Disney+ shows, although nothing about that has been announced yet. Marvel Studios Visual Director Andy Park also suggested that the film has strong ties to Black Widow. This isn’t a huge surprise, as the involvement of Yelena, Red Guardian, and Taskmaster makes it clear that many of these stories will carry over. This could mean the film also pays homage to one of the MCU’s original antiheroes, Natasha Romanoff.

THE The trailer also shows Valentina at some kind of gala or exhibition that features Loki’s scepter.which has played an important role throughout the history of the MCU. It will be interesting to see if this will be significant in the film or just a reference to the wider universe. This also opens up the question as to why Loki’s scepter is on display in such a public setting and what event exactly Valentina is actually participating in.

Yelena, Red Guardian, US Agent and Bucky are the highlights of the trailer. They seem to be getting the most characterization, and the footage raises new questions about what they’ve been up to since their last appearances in the MCU. From now on, definitely feel more closely connected to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Black Widow.

Who are Marvel’s Thunderbolts? The MCU Team Explained

They are ex-villains doing somewhat heroic things

In the comics, the first Thunderbolts are a group of reformed villains. The original team was started by Baron Zemo after the Avengers’ deaths, with the goal of replacing the Avengers and gaining the public’s trust in another plan for world domination. That’s why, even though Daniel Brühl’s Zemo has yet to be included in the film’s cast, many are still hoping for Baron Zemo in the role. Rays*.

Unknown to the rest of the world, this new team of “reformed” villains, the Thunderbolts, were actually the Masters of Evil disguised as Zemo. However, this version of the Thunderbolts actually starts to enjoy being seen as heroes and doing good, so they end up overthrowing Zemo as their leader.

Over the course of Marvel Comics history, the Thunderbolts’ formation and leadership have changed significantly. The Thunderbolts name has been associated with several iterations, with several members leaving and joining the team. This includes Harrison Ford’s MCU character General “Thunderbolt” Ross, who led a version of the team as the Red Hulk. However, among the many Thunderbolts lineups, one factor has remained consistent: the Thunderbolts are more morally gray than the Avengers.

Many casual viewers online have already noticed the similarities. After all, both teams have villains in their lineup. However, despite the on-paper idiosyncrasies between Thunderbolts and the Suicide Squad, they are by no means the same. Marvel Rays will be very different from the Warner Bros/DC team it has already been compared to. Viewers unfamiliar with the Rays* the comics are wrong to dismiss this Marvel project as a simple Disney movie Suicide Squad, and not just because Marvel’s team of antiheroes don’t have explosive chips in their necks or an R rating.

Harrison Ford is playing Red Hulk in the MCU’s Thunderbolts*?

Red Hulk’s story can continue

Harrison Ford replaced the beloved William Hurt as Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolt” Ross, which means he could return as Red Hulk for Rays* following your role in Captain America: Brave New World. In the comics, Ross’s obsession with defeating the Hulk led him to team up with some of the most dangerous criminal minds in the Marvel Universe on several occasions, including during World War Hulk. Consisting of Ross, MODOK, the Leader and Doc Samson, this World War Hulk the team of villains called themselves Intelligence.

As the more humorous and much sadder version of Intelligence in She-HulkRoss and his allies used various techniques to divert the Hulk’s energy, which they used to transform Ross into the Red Hulk. Later, after the Phoenix War, Ross led an iteration of the Thunderbolts consisting of Venom, Punisher, Elektra, Ghost Rider, Mercy, the Leader, and Deadpool (who will be played by Ryan Reynolds in the MCU in Deadpool 3). Since Captain America: Brave New World confirms that Ross will become the Red Hulk soon, his later appearance in Rays* In this form it would make a lot of sense.

What could the asterisk mean in the title Thunderbolts*?

Still a mystery

After the new Rays* the title was spotted on the set with a strange asterisk, the new title was confirmed to be accurate but not expanded. Kevin Feige himself joined the conversation Rays*clarifying that the asterisk is in fact intentionalbut Marvel won’t clarify the meaning until the film’s release. While not particularly descriptive, this dispelled theories that the asterisk meant Rays it was just a placeholder and the film would be given an entirely new name before release.

The prevailing theory is that the asterisk will be a reference to an event in the film. Given that the team resembles some groups of Avengers, one idea claims that the team will be mistaken for the main Marvel team by civilians and will have to constantly correct people that they are the Thunderbolts, not the Avengers. Another idea is for the asterisk to reference footnotes and conditions hidden in marketing. It’s possible that being in the Thunderbolts involves great risks and conditions that will come up in the film. Regardless, it doesn’t appear that any details will be made clear until Rays* hits theaters in 2025.