On a mission

Thunderbolts*, the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is playing now in theatres.

The title is stylised with an asterisk to mean that ‘The Avengers are not available’.

The movie follows a group of antiheroes that find themselves on a dangerous mission after getting caught in a deadly trap by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The Thunderbolts team consists of Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Ava Starr / Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen).

In an interview, Sebastian described the project as Marvel’s version of The Breakfast Club, a 1985 coming-of-age film about a group of high-school students with different mindsets who face detainment in their school library.

“It’s a weird group thrown together, and I think people are going to love it,” he said.

Florence revealed that the production showcases her character Yelena processing traumatic events of recent Marvel Cinematic Universe projects, including the death of her adoptive sister Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in Avengers: Endgame (2019), adding that she believes it was important to show the character’s vulnerability.

“Natasha was her hero and her idol. She’s her big sister. Even when she was angry at her, she never stopped loving her. So, the idea that she’s gone and she never got to have that relationship that she finally got back in Black Widow...” Florence said, referring to the 2021 film, which introduced Yelena.

“If I hadn’t been able to play this beat, I would’ve been pissed off because it’s natural instincts. You’ve got to allow these characters to be human.

“You’ve got to allow them to feel. And also, the fans wouldn’t have liked it,” she added.