Summary

• The 2025 MCU film Thunderbolts features a new MCU team with a dark past that was covered in previous films.
• Characters like Yelena Belova, Winter Soldier, Red Guardian, USAgent and more make up the team.
• Director Jake Schreier is directing the new Thunderbolts film, with the members having a past that is closely tied to previous appearances in the MCU (some of them have not been seen in 5 or more years).

Marvel’s Thunderbolts* hits theaters in 2025 and introduces an impressive new team of characters with dark pasts that have been largely covered in previous MCU films. Presumably brought together to work in the interests of the U.S. government, each member of the Thunderbolts has quite a past marked by darkness and hardship. However, it’s been a while since certain members of this new team were last seen in the MCU.

From director Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* is scheduled to be released on April 30, 2025. So far, only the core roster has been revealed to the public through concept art released by Marvel Studios at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, along with more recent exclusive Thunderbolts* Footage revealed at SDCC 2024. While this footage introduced new characters like Lewis Pullman’s “Bob” (most likely the MCU’s mighty Sentry), every known member of the Thunderbolts has already had one or more previous appearances in the MCU. To this end, Here’s the explanation of each member of the Thunderbolts roster and where we last saw them.

Elena Belova

Sister of Natasha Romanov’s “Black Widow”

First published in the 2020s Black widowYelena Belova (from “Florence Pugh”) was revealed as the estranged adoptive sister of Natasha Romanov (aka “Black Widow”) of the Avengers. Yelena is herself a trained Black Widow and a product of the Russian Red Room. She reunites with Natasha in Black widowwho, together with her adoptive father (Red Guardian) and her adoptive mother (Melina Vostokoff), work to destroy General Dreykov’s Red Room once and for all. Yelena had another appearance in Hawkeye.

After a new contract of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) in Black widow In the post-credits scene, Clint Barton’s Hawkeye became Yelena’s next target, a target she carried out without any problems as she blamed him for her sister’s death. Avengers: Endgame. However, Yelena and Clint finally make peace in 2021 HawkeyeYelena’s most recent appearance in the MCU before her confirmed role in Lightning*.

The Winter Soldier

Bucky Barnes aka White Wolf

Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Steve Rogers’ best friend and one of Captain America’s Howling Commandos during World War II, was also kept alive into modern times after being captured by Russian Hydra agents who enhanced his body and brainwashed his mind, turning him into one of their deadliest assassins known as the Winter Soldier. With an advanced metal arm to replace the one he lost in World War II, Steve eventually finds Bucky and helps him regain his mind with the help of Wakanda, as seen in Captain America: Civil War And Avengers: Infinity War.

Named White Wolf by the Wakandans, Bucky was last seen in 2021 The Falcon and the Winter Soldier where the former Winter Soldier helped Sam Wilson’s Falcon truly embrace and take on the role of Captain Americasince Steve Rogers had chosen Sam to carry the shield, as in Avengers: Endgame. After working hard to reconcile his dark past and the people he killed, it will be interesting to see how Bucky gets involved in this new group being assembled for 2025. Thunderbolts.

Red Guardian

The Soviet Union’s super soldier

Alexei Shostakov, the adoptive father of Natasha Romanov and Yelena Belova, was the Soviet Union’s Red Guardian, a successful super-soldier with enhanced strength and reflexes, not unlike Steve Rogers. Played by David Harbour, Shostakov made his MCU debut in the 2020s Black widowto take revenge on General Dreykov, who had betrayed him and thrown him into a Siberian prison where he was left to rot before his daughters freed him. To this end Exclusive SDCC footage suggests Alexei will be most excited about joining the Thunderboltsbecause he saw the new team as a chance to regain the glory that ultimately eluded him.

Breeder

Dreykov’s daughter

Also available in 2020 Black widowTaskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) was the lead agent who served General Dreykov as the commander of the Red Room. However, it was later revealed that Taskmaster was Dreykov’s own daughter Antonia, who was transformed into a deadly assassin by a chip that gave her uncanny photographic reflexes, allowing her to mimic the movements and abilities of any rival she saw or encountered. After Natasha, along with the other Widows, freed her mind from Dreykov’s control using the Red Dust, It will be interesting to learn more about how Antonia rebuilt her life and what she was doing Lightning*.

USA Agenda

The former Captain America

After Sam Wilson initially surrendered Rogers’ shield, John Walker’s Cap (Wyatt Russell) was chosen as the next government-sanctioned Captain America. While wielding the shield, he clashed with Falcon and the Winter Soldier and attempted to defeat the anti-nationalist group known as the Flag Smashers. Walker eventually gives in to his feelings of inadequacy and secretly injects himself with a dose of super-soldier serum. However, this causes Walker to become even more insane in the 2021 series. The Falcon and the Winterwhich led to his public murder of one of the flag destroyers who had actively surrendered.

Walker was stripped of his rank and dishonorably discharged by the U.S. government. Although he initially sought revenge, Walker eventually helped Sam Wilson’s Captain America and the Winter Soldier prevent the Flag Smashers’ attack on the GRC, as seen in the series finale. However, John Walker subsequently agreed to work for Valentina.and becomes the MCU’s U.S. Agent, who will continue to serve the country in a more covert capacity, a relationship that will most likely continue into 2025. Lightning*.

Spirit

Former SHIELD stealth agent

Ghost, played by Hannah John-Kamen, has not appeared in the MCU since her debut in 2018. Ant-Man and the Wasp. Ava Starr, a former Shadow agent who worked for SHIELD before the fall of that company, attempts to cure her painful invulnerability after a quantum accident by using the quantum tunnel built by Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne. Eventually, Ghost’s affliction was stabilized by the end of the film thanks to Janet van Dynce, who was successfully rescued from her years in the Quantum Realm. Starr’s whereabouts in the MCU are largely unknown 6 years later before her upcoming appearance in Thunderbolts* (although she will have a new suit).

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine

Director of the CIA

After their first appearance in 2021 Falcon and the Winter Soldier John Walker, the next appearance of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina was in Black widow where she pointed Yelena towards Clint Barton’s Hawkeye. This suggests that Val is slowly gathering agents for this upcoming agent team. However, her most recent appearance was in 2022 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever where it was revealed that Val is none other than the Director of the CIA of the MCUwhich implies that the Thunderbolts are likely a black ops meta-team assembled to work in the interests of the US government.

Honorable Mention: Red Hulk?

President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross

Although he is by no means the founder of the Thunderbolts in the comics and has not yet been confirmed for the MCU film, It is worth noting that Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross will return to the MCU in Captain America: Brave New World which immediately precedes Thunderbolts*. It was also announced that Ross will finally transform into the Red Hulk, just like his comic book counterpart. After his first appearance in 2008 The Incredible Hulk As a classic general who hunted Bruce Banner, Ross, the late William Hurt, was later introduced in both Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, And Black widow as US Secretary of State.

Now Harrison Ford has taken on the role of Ross, who would have recently been elected President of the United States. Brave new world. For this purpose maybe Ross will actually be the founder of this new and seemingly approved team of superhumansespecially if his desire to bring back the Avengers with Sam Wilson (as hinted at in Brave new world Trailer) ultimately fails. It is also worth noting that Red Hulk was once a member of the Thunderbolts on the site.

Upcoming MCU movies