Marvel's Thunderbolts Movie Adds Jake Schreier as Director

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's long-gestating Thunderbolts project is finally on its way to becoming a reality. On Thursday, reports indicated that Jake Schreier has been tapped to direct an upcoming Thunderbolts movie, with Black Widow's Eric Pearson set to write the script and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige set to produce. Reports are indicating that the film could begin production next summer, and that Marvel Studios has been "in touch with certain individuals" who are already a part of the franchise to make sure their schedules are clear for the shoot.

Schreier is best known for directing the 2012 indie darling Robot & Frank, as well as the 2015 adaptation of John Green's novel Paper Towns. He has also helmed episodes of Beef and Dave, as well as music videos for Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. It had previously been rumored that a Thunderbolts movie could be in the works to begin production sometime in 2023.

It is unclear at this point who could make up the cast of Thunderbolts, a team that traditionally consists of supervillains and antiheroes going on missions, initially to convince the general public that they are operating as heroes. The first comic incarnation of the team was led by Baron Zemo, with other members including Songbird, Moonstone, Taskmaster, U.S. Agent, Crossbones, Abomination, Ghost, and more. The team gets its namesake from General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt), but following Hurt's passing earlier this year, it's anyone's guess as to how that aspect of the storyline could be handled.

The idea of the Thunderbolts being formed in the MCU has been popping up for several years now, particularly as more antiheroic characters have begun to be established. The inklings of that storyline might have already been put in place with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow, both of which featured scenes of Countess Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julie Louis-Dreyfuss) recruiting people for a shady team she was forming. So far, Val got John Walker / U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) to work for her, with the latter's adventures playing out in the recent Hawkeye Disney+ series.

"That would be fun!" Ghost actress Hannah John-Kamen explained in a 2018 interview. "That would be fun. I think, you know, as well, in the original comics Ghost was with Iron Man, it was actually originally Iron Man (villain), you know, and I actually went when I was in Atlanta, went and actually bought the Thunderbolts comic books. With any Marvel character whatever happens to them, you always go the possibility is endless. And with me, it would be an honor to work with any of the heroes, and any of the antagonist, and any of the things in the Marvel Universe. I mean, yeah, that would be amazing!?".

Are MCU’s Thunderbolts Heroes or Villains? Kevin Feige Responds

While Marvel Studios doesn't have an Avengers movie set to arrive in Phase 5 of the MCU, that doesn't mean there's no team-up effort whatsoever. The prime example of this can be found in 2024's Thunderbolts, featuring a team of past MCU villains with a couple of key heroes all thrown into one group and set to cause some mayhem in a post-Avengers: Endgame story.

The big question with this movie is whether the core team is looked at as heroes or villains, with characters like Ghost and the U.S. Agent coming in with questionable and dark moments in their past. Top that off with the group being led by a shady figure in Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra di Fontaine, and there are real concerns about how the Thunderbolts will be presented to the MCU's general public.

Well, thanks to the first official public showing for Thunderbolts, the main man behind the MCU teased that very question being a focal point of this new movie.

While the Avengers aren't around the way they used to be in Phase 5, Feige noted how the Thunderbolts take over that team-up duty, even though they're "not...as lofty" as Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Coming in as a "ragtag bunch" of characters, this team will come together for the first time to close the Multiverse Saga's middle Phase:

“You know, one thing in the Captain America film is that there currently is a world without the Avengers. Sam Wilson finds himself as Cap at a time where there’s not an organization of Avengers. But just because there’s not an organization of the Avengers doesn’t mean there’s not a group of superheroes in the MCU. Not a group, perhaps, as lofty as The Avengers but there’s a group and they’re called the Thunderbolts. The Thunderbolts are finally coming through the screen and they are a ragtag bunch.”

He even joked around that this is a team where Sebastian Stan's Winter Solider is "the most stable" member of the team - a feat in and of itself:

“I think it lets you tell us all you need to know about the Thunderbolts when when beloved Winter Soldier is the most stable among them.”

Following the presentation, Stan joined co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus for an interview, looking back on Feige's quotes about Thunderbolts.

Louis-Dreyfus backed Feige's "ragtag" comment, while Stan teased that the movie will answer the question about whether it's a group of heroes or villains. The Winter Soldier actor noted that this is what will make the story compelling with the question of whether its characters are good or bad:

Louis-Dreyfus: “Well, Kevin described us as ‘ragtag,’ so we’ll go with that.”

Stan: "Well, again, maybe that’s what the movie’s gonna answer, right? It’s always interesting when you as an audience member have to maybe decide whether we are villains or heroes. But I think it’ll be interesting, I think that’s what’s compelling, I guess, about the movie, is sort of that it’s very unconventional like that. It sort of starts out a little bit like ‘who’s really the protagonist or antagonist,’ I guess."

How Will Thunderbolts Join the MCU?
DC first brought the idea of a team of bad guys to light with the company's two Suicide Squad movies, comprised of iconic DC villains like Harley Quinn, Peacemaker, Deadshot, and more. While that movie made it unquestionably clear that this was a team of bad guys, Thunderbolts will bring some more mystery to that question in the MCU.

As Feige mentioned, Bucky Barnes is unquestionably the most stable member of the group, and this is a man who literally suffered decades of mental torture and mind control under Hydra as the Winter Soldier. Even having seemingly moved past that nightmare, he still has demons he's worked to fight through, which was highlighted as he returned alongside Sam Wilson in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

The team also includes another victim of mind control in Taskmaster while Hannah-John Kamen's Ghost was largely out for revenge and closure after Hank Pym's work accidentally got her parents killed. And with two key pieces of the Black Widow legacy in tow with the Red Guardian and Yelena Belova, there will certainly be plenty of red gushing from this team's ledger.

But considering how only two of these characters have been pure villains before in the MCU, this team's dynamic will be something to follow as many of them meet and interact for the first time. Fans will watch for how they are introduced to the world as well, especially with a shady figure like Val backing them, as they find out what new mission they'll have to tackle.