THUNDERBOLTS* Will Be The MCU’s TOY STORY 3: “Can They Get Out Of The Trash Can Together?”
With the Thunderbolts* movie, Marvel is doing something very different and unique. It’s not a lineup of squeaky-clean Avengers but a collection of misfits, cast-offs, and complicated characters with checkered pasts.
Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster, and Lewis Pullman’s mysterious ‘Bob’.
Of course, none of them would be anyone’s first pick to save the world. Yet, here they are, and they are in for a really rough Battle that leaves fans wondering how they will even win.
Director Jake Schreier embraces that messiness of these characters. The film isn’t about heroes saving the day, it’s about flawed people forced to work together. He draws from a range of influences, from Reservoir Dogs to Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. But there’s one comparison fan probably wouldn’t expect… Toy Story 3.
Schreier tells Empire: “I had Toy Story 3 in there. It wasn’t as focused on a genre as much as dynamics amongst characters. They all have that dynamic of a team that is thrown together.”
Like Woody and Buzz facing obsolescence, the Thunderbolts are past their prime, questioning their purpose. And just like in Toy Story 3’s infamous furnace scene, they’re staring down destruction together.
Schreier explains: “That [furnace] sequence works so well because you’ve come to care about these characters so much. Can they get out of the trash can together?”
This is an interesting way to look at a Marvel movie, less about spectacle, more about character. These are people who’ve done bad things, who struggle with guilt, loneliness, and self-worth.
“You’re talking about a group of characters that have done a lot of bad things, and maybe are struggling with feeling good about themselves. There’s an element that does speak to mental health, and loneliness, and how some of the darkness that we experience in our lives can’t be necessarily fixed, but can only really be made lighter through connection and finding others.”
At the heart of it, Thunderbolts isn’t about redemption it’s about survival and about finding connection in the unlikeliest of places. I love the concept behind this, and I’m excited about this story and seeing how it plays out.
The plot summary reads: “A world without Avengers doesn't mean there's not a group of superheroes. There is a group and they're called the Thunderbolts. A group of supervillains from the MCU are recruited to go on missions for the government.”
Thunderbolts* is currently set to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.