By now, most fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are aware of how the latest MCU film, Thunderbolts* ended, including its post-credits scene. Anyone who hasn’t at this time should stop reading this because we’re going into full on SPOILERS for Thunderbolts* and what is next for the MCU, including next year’s Avengers: Doomsday.
Introducing the New Avengers
To no one’s real surprise, the asterisk in the film title Thunderbolts* was an indication that the title team of dysfunctional mercenaries with personal demons, stood for something else. For most of the film, the team’s comic relief, Alexi Shostakov, the Red Guardian, kept referring to the team as the West Chesapeake Valley Thunderbolts, after the soccer team his adopted daughter, Yelena Belova, played in as a child. By the end of the film, after the Thunderbolts saved New York City, they were introduced to the world as the New Avengers by the film’s antagonist, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, in a move to save her political career and to stay out of prison.
Speculation had been going on among fans ever since the film title included the asterisk. Some thought maybe it was a placeholder for a subtitle that would be spoilery. They were right to an extent because the asterisk was actually a placeholder for the film’s supposed real title, The New Avengers, which Marvel Studios began to openly flaunt just a few days after the film’s release.
Was the supposed title change to The New Avengers a desperate marketing attempt to drum up more interest in Thunderbolts*? Maybe. Then again, the marketing has been incredibly inventive for the film with innovative posters and some trailers that made the film out to be something that A24 would release. In any event, the fact that the Thunderbolts are actually the New Avengers does increase their profile and hints at what lies ahead for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
In the film’s two post-credits scenes and the montage shown during the initial credits, the so-called New Avengers are not well received by the world. Who could blame them? Just as how many of us complained about the lackluster lineup of the Thunderbolts when the film was announced, it was natural that most people would have a negative reaction to the replacement for the original Avengers. Where were the heavy hitters like Hulk or Thor? The New Avengers was made up of a bunch of mercenaries/super soldiers with similar and limited skill and power sets. As Yelena quipped at one point, “we just punch and shoot.” Then add in their questionable pasts, which probably could not be glossed over by marketing; although the original Avengers team members also had checkered backgrounds, including Yelena’s sister, Natasha Romanov, a fellow assassin.
But unknown to most of the world, deep down, these characters had heart and faced down their insecurities and flaws, which made them more endearing to audiences. Each of the Thunderbolts wanted a chance at redemption and to be part of something greater. This was obvious with Alexi who dreamed of recapturing the glory he had during the Cold War in Russia, Yelena dealing with depression and wanting something else in her life, or John Walker, who couldn’t fill in the shoes of Captain America as seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and wanted to prove himself. They just didn’t expect it to be as the lineup for the new incarnation of the Avengers.
Sure, these Thunderbolts were not superstars like Tony Stark, but they grew on us as they created a sort of family bond forged by the events they underwent together. What made the film so quickly beloved was that these characters were deeply flawed, yet had great chemistry, which helped them succeed in the end as they came together as a team. How they will carry on going forward is anyone’s guess, but we can speculate based on the final post-credits scene.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has taken its lumps in recent years thanks to some films and TV shows that failed to capture the excitement and emotions of the early MCU films. The 36th and latest MCU film, Thunderbolts*, on the other hand, proves that the MCU can still put out great films.
Thunderbolts*, which was released this weekend, re-introduces us to many D-List MCU characters that appeared in other MCU films, and now they get their opportunity to shine in the film’s spotlight. Even though the film is an ensemble piece, the main character is Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the sister of Black Widow and is bored with her existence as a mercenary carrying out questionable jobs for CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia-Louis Dreyfus). There will be some spoilers for the film.
After asking de Fontaine for a change of pace, Yelena is sent on a covert op to kill another mercenary, Ava Starr aka Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), who was last seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp, at a remote desert laboratory. Once there the two women are targeted by John Walker (Wyatt Russell), who was introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as U.S. Agent, and Antonia Dreykov aka Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko). It turns out that de Fontaine sent all four mercs to kill each other because she is getting rid of all evidence of her involvement with the shady O.X.E Group. After an obligatory introductory and thrilling battle that leaves Taskmaster dead, the remaining trio meet Bob (Lewis Pullman), a seemingly ordinary fellow who somehow woke up in the lab.
The three mercenaries manage to escape the lab and are joined by Yelena’s adopted father, Alexei Shostakov, the supposedly famous Red Guardian (David Harbour), a Russian knock-off of Captain America. Later on, they are forcibly recruited by James “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), once the infamous Winter Soldier and now a U.S. Congressman, to testify in Congress against de Fontaine, who is being impeached. What none of them realize is that there is a lot more to Bob, who is revealed to have been the test subject of the O.X.E Group to create the ultimate superhero. But no one took into account Bob’s fragile emotional state and how that will come to severely impact Bob and the world after his superpowers have manifested.
There are many reasons why Thunderbolts* works so well. Let’s start with the cast. Every actor featured is on point and more importantly have great chemistry with one another. They are able to convey that they are broken, dysfunctional people that clash with one another, often humorously, and are yet able to come together. As great as the actors were, Florence Pugh is the obvious star in the film and its emotional center. She best exemplifies how emotionally broken the Thunderbolts and Bob are and how they strive to better themselves. The other actors turn in solid work such as Stan, who plays the straight man to the dysfunctional group, and Wyatt Russell adds some much needed depth and sympathy to his character. He no longer comes off as a poor man’s Captain America. However, David Harbour steals many scenes with his boisterous Alexei, who is all too eager to prove himself as a superhero and to bask in the glory of being one. Many of his funny lines are well delivered and add some needed levity to the film before it wallows too much into examining psyches.
Much like Guardians of the Galaxy, Thunderbolts* focus is on its characters and this works. It makes us understand them better and see how much nuance and depth they have. This also makes us care about them, a lot more than expected. Unfortunately, not every character gets in depth looks into their personalities, but that probably would have made for a very long film. Besides, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier gave us plenty of insight into Bucky and how he recovered emotionally from his ordeal as the Winter Soldier. The film takes time to explore how emotionally vulnerable the Thunderbolts are as they battle their own inner demons, especially depression. This adds so much weight and levity to them and makes the film stand out from the typical superhero movie.
Before anyone thinks that Thunderbolts* is some kind of pretentious Oscar bait brimming with character studies, the film has some of the MCU’s most exciting action scenes. Probably the best one featured a one-sided battle between the Thunderbolts and an insanely OP Bob, who becomes the Sentry, Marvel’s emotionally unstable version of Superman. The Sentry and his dark alter ego known as the Void were both impressive and terrifying. The way the Void was shown as an ominously dark silhouette was very creepy and hammered home the vulnerabilities of the Thunderbolts. Again and again they and we kept asking how a bunch of mercs and wannabe heroes, who could only shoot and punch, fight someone so powerful? Of course, it could not be done through physical combat and the method used to confront the Sentry is a welcome change when it comes to third act confrontations in superhero films. No blinding shafts of light going up into the sky will be found in Thunderbolts*, instead we get introspective character development. That is why this film works so well.
Anyone wavering about whether or not to see Thunderbolts* should consider that while it is a welcome change when it comes to superhero films, it is actually important to the MCU as it closes out Phase Five of the MCU, unlike more recent films and TV shows. So, be sure to stick around for the post-credits scenes. Not only is the final scene one of the longest post-credits scenes in the MCU, but like in the older classic MCU films, the scene helps advance the larger event going on with the MCU.
Most people agree that the original Daredevil TV show that streamed on Netflix was the pinnacle of superhero TV shows. Buoyed by powerful performances by Charlie Cox as the blind lawyer and superhero, Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio as his arch nemesis, Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, Daredevil was dark, gritty, and intense. Sadly, the show was cancelled by Netflix, and it would take some time before Marvel Studios resurrected the TV show and its characters in the newest Disney + Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) TV show, Daredevil: Born Again.
The main question fans of Daredevil had was whether the new TV show could measure up to the old one? The answer is yes, for the most part.
It is fairly well known that when Daredevil: Born Again was first announced, it was not clear if the original TV show was part of the MCU and it seemed as if it wasn’t even though Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk appeared in properties like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Hawkeye and Echo. This was evident by the Kingpin’s portrayal in Hawkeye where he displayed previously unmentioned superhuman strength and wore more leisurely clothing. Not much was known about the original episodes of Daredevil: Born Again, except that it did not capture the spirit of Daredevil and Marvel Studios head, Kevin Feige, was not impressed with what he saw, which was reportedly more of a legal drama where Murdock didn’t wear his Daredevil costume until the sixth episode. So, Feige decided to retool the TV show by bringing in a new creative team, which filmed three new episodes and re-edited the original six episodes of Daredevil: Born Again.
Looking at the complete first season of Daredevil: Born Again it is very obvious that the episodes varied in quality between the revamped episodes and three episodes done by the new team. It’s not that the six original episodes were bad, they were fine, but they lacked the oomph and high standards of the original Daredevil that the newer episodes were able to match. This is not a knock against Daredevil: Born Again because it ranks as one of the best Disney + MCU TV shows. There is a lot to admire about it overall, and it is nearly perfect. It’s just frustrating that there were undeniable flaws with the season that prevent it from reaching the heights of seasons one and three of Daredevil (the second season had its issues). But it’s important to note that the first season of Daredevil: Born Again starts off powerfully strong and ends on a similar high note, which will continue with the second season.
On March 26, 2025, Marvel Studios painstakingly announced the cast of next year’s Avengers: Doomsday with an online stream that lasted over FIVE hours. The marketing team behind this event can be either commended for increasing anticipation and publicity for Avengers: Doomsday or slammed for coming up with this idea of using chairs to slowly announce cast members and stretching this out for several long hours.
Many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) woke up that day with news that Marvel Studios was making a big announcement later in the morning. They speculated about what would the news be about. More MCU films announced? The cast for the new X-Men? At first, when the stream began and an obscure figure entered the screen and placed a chair with Chris Hemsworth’s name on it, people guessed it may have been a revelation that a new Thor film was coming. Then 12 and a half minutes later, another chair was revealed with Vanessa Kirby’s name on it, and we all knew by then the announcement was about the cast for Avengers: Doomsday. It was inevitable since the film was scheduled to begin filming around this time and the finale of the stream declared just that. These were the following cast members announced for Avengers: Doomsday in the order they were announced:
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman
Anthony Mackie as Captain America
Sebastian Stan as Bucky/Winter Soldier
Letitia Wright as Shuri/Black Panther
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man
Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent aka dime store Captain America
Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing
Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
Kelsey Grammer as the Beast
Lewis Pullman as the Sentry
Danny Ramirez as the Falcon
Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch
David Harbour as Red Guardian
Winston Duke as M’Baku
Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost
Tom Hiddleston as Loki, most likely the God of Stories
Patrick Stewart as Professor X
Ian McKellan as Magneto
Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler
Rebecca Romijn as Mystique
James Marsden as Cyclops
Channing Tatum as Gambit
Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic and
Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom
That is an impressive and surprising line up for what will be the biggest and most important MCU film in years. The announcement certainly generated excitement among fans and much of it was positive although there were many questions that went unanswered. Here are a few takeaways:
Drawn Out Announcement
On paper it seemed like a good idea to slowly announce the cast with intervals that lasted several minutes. With a cast this large it took over five hours for the announcements to be completed and this tried the patience of many online viewers who wanted (and screamed) for the announcements to hurry up. For others however, the announcement built up anticipation and created something of an event as many wondered who would be announced next. Some announcements had excited reactions while a few others were obvious.
The event also for all intents and purposes spoiled Thunderbolts* since most of the cast from that upcoming film will survive and appear in Avengers: Doomsday. The Fantastic Four will play an important role in the film which is natural since Doctor Doom is their main enemy. The question remains is how big a role will they play? Most likely the team will be on the level of co-stars and function the same way that the Guardians of the Galaxy did in Avengers: Infinity War.
Finally, given the latter cast announcements, this film not only reunites a few actors from the original Fox X-Men films, but the film will probably be a loose adaptation of the Avengers Vs. X-Men comic book series event from the last decade.
Who Was Left Out
A lot of the buzz generated by the stream was about who was not announced, and it was surprising that some characters apparently won’t be a part of Avengers: Doomsday. These characters include the Hulk, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, War Machine, Captain Marvel, Photon, Star-Lord or the new Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool, Wolverine, Wong, and finally the Young Avengers.
Some of the absences are puzzling given how integral some heroes are to the Avengers like the Hulk, have been set up in other MCU projects like the Young Avengers were, and how popular others are like Spider-Man. After all, at the very end of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, a title card announced that Star-Lord would return. If not in this film, then were else? Well, Avengers: Secret Wars, of course.
A few weeks ago, some concept art was leaked that showed images of these missing characters and a few others like Vision and Doctor Strange in what looks like Batttleworld, the location of the Secret Wars comic books. In the first issue of Secret Wars, the main Marvel Universe collided with the Ultimate Marvel Universe and both were destroyed. Doctor Doom managed to scrape together segments of many realities into an artificial world called Battleworld and the Marvel characters were re-imagined. The same thing will probably happen with Avengers: Secret Wars and the absent characters will turn up in that film. This is similar to what happened with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame where Ant-Man and Hawkeye were featured in the latter film but not the former one.
Keep this in mind, however. After the stream ended, Marvel Studios cryptically announced on social media that there would be more announcements. This can be welcome news but truthfully, Marvel Studios has to be careful not to bring in too many characters in order to focus on a few important ones.
Avengers Vs. X-Men
The biggest surprise in the announcement was that of the Fox X-Men film characters returning. This was very welcome news by fans of the early X-Men films, and some of the announcements were stunning. Cumming had such a miserable experience with the blue makeup when filming X2: X-Men United that he refused to reprise his role as Nightcrawler even though his character was very popular. Channing Tatum proved that if a performance is earnest and strong enough it can win you a return ticket to a major franchise. His appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine was among the best and he injected that role with lots of vigor and enthusiasm; frankly he deserved to come back to an MCU film in some fashion.
Among the most notable absences were Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Halle Berry as Storm and Famke Janssen as Jean Grey/Phoenix. Janssen’s absence is puzzling since it brings up the question if the film will have anything to do with the Phoenix Force story from Avengers Vs. X-Men. This implies that the Avengers film will only loosely adapt Avengers Vs. X-Men and focus more on Doctor Doom. It seems likely that instead of the main Marvel Universe battling the Ultimate Marvel Universe, this film will have the MCU characters confronting the Fox X-Men film characters. It is questionable if these X-Men will be those featured from the early films and might be variant versions. It is hard to tell and given that the timeline of those Fox X-Men films is confusing, it’s for the best not to think too hard about it.
The most logical assumption is that the MCU will meet the X-Men seen in the alternate universe seen at the end of The Marvels when Monica Rambeau wound up stranded in that universe. Her appearance will set off an incursion event that will have the two universes collide and lead to Avengers: Secret Wars. But then, if that is the plot, then why wasn’t Teyonah Parris announced? Maybe she will, later. Maybe Marvel Studios wants to keep some appearances as surprises to make up for spoiling Thunderbolts*.
There are many questions that have been raised by the streaming event, which is great for Marvel Studios and Avengers: Doomsday. This demonstrates that there is still interest and excitement about the MCU. To think, all this buzz is for a film that is over a year away and we still haven’t seen a trailer or set photos or anything official aside from a bunch of chairs and Robert Downey Junior motioning us to be silent. All this will be for nothing if Avengers: Doomsday doesn’t deliver, but given the talent behind the film, that seems unlikely.
Right now, we’re all basking in the joy that Daredevil has returned to TV with Daredevil: Born Again. What’s even more joyous is that not only is the character now firmly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, (MCU) but the TV show is a direct continuation of the Netflix series, Daredevil, that streamed a few years ago. That may be obvious since the blind superhero is being played again by Charlie Cox and his villain, Wilson Fisk, has been reprised by Vincent D’Onofrio. But for a while, it was unclear if Daredevil: Born Again would be a soft reboot of the original series. However, that question has been answered by Marvel Studios and was shown with the additions of other cast members from Daredevil and other references and Easter eggs to the Marvel Netflix universe.
Aside from returning actors like Debra Ann Woll, Ayelet Zurer and Elden Henson, two notable references were dropped in the first episode of Daredevil: Born Again. During some conversation, Elden Henson’s character, Foggy Nelson, mentioned that he worked for the law firm, Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz, that was introduced in the Marvel Netflix series, Jessica Jones. The other reference was in a crowd scene taking place in Times Square during New Year’s Eve. In addition to MCU references like Rogers: The Musical and the Pym Van Dyne Foundation, we can spot an advertisement for Harlem’s Paradise, the underworld nightclub in Luke Cage that was eventually taken over by the title hero.
So, we can infer that the other Marvel Netflix heroes, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and yes, Iron Fist, who made up the superhero team, the Defenders, are part of the MCU now. No more vague references to a “Big, green guy” or “the Incident” aka Loki’s alien attack on New York City. But this has not been officially verified by Marvel Studios, which as usual remains tightlipped about such matters. Remember they kept quiet about Matt Murdock (Daredevil’s civilian identity) appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home for the longest time and pleasantly surprised fans when the blind lawyer turned up to represent Peter Parker. They also were mum before the Kingpin was revealed to be the main villain in Hawkeye.
As of now, all we have to go on are rumors from insiders that the Defenders will be part of the second season of Daredevil: Born Again. Kristen Ritter, the actor who portrayed Jessica Jones, was asked in recent interviews if she was reprising her role. She replied that she was available and willing to play the superhuman private detective. However, she has posted on social media that she has been at the gym, possibly to get in shape for the role. She also posted that she was traveling to New York City in late February of 2025 for unknown reasons. At the same time, filming for the second season of Daredevil: Born Again commenced in New York City last month. This could mean Ritter went to the city to film her scenes or it could be just a coincidence.
So far, there’s no word if Michael Colton and Finn Jones will reprise their roles of Luke Cage and Iron Fist, respectively, although Jones stated recently he wanted to return. However, given how negatively the TV show, Iron Fist, was received, it would be understandable if the role was recast in order to distance the character from the Netflix series.
It would be great for the Defenders to return to the world of Daredevil and be a part of the MCU. There were some plot threads that were left unresolved in the other Marvel Netflix TV shows that need to be addressed. For example, when Luke Cage took over the night club did he become a criminal? Did Iron Fist and his step brother finish their mystical quest in Asia? Also, a running plot line in Daredevil: Born Again is that Wilson as the mayor of New York City bans vigilantes; how does this affect the Defenders? Supposedly, this was to be part of the plot for the next Spider-Man film until Sony decided they want to continue playing with the multiverse, instead. Too bad, since Fisk was originally a Spider-Man villain, as was the Punisher. Involving the Defenders would better flesh out the anti-vigilante plot in Daredevil: Born Again and could adapt the events of the Devi’s Reign comic book mini-series that was devoted to Fisk’s term as Mayor and his anti-superhero crusade.
Speaking of vigilantes, the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) is part of the first season of Daredevil: Born Again and will have his own TV special next year. If he could get his own special then the Defenders should get their own specials or mini-series, as well. Just leave out the Hand as the adversaries and get better fight choreographers.
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