50 Fun Facts About Thunderbolts*

Who plays Yelena Belova, the film's lead?

She insisted on doing the Merdeka 118 tower jump herself, and won the argument with Kevin Feige.

What elected office does Bucky Barnes hold in Thunderbolts*?

He was first written as a lobbyist; Feige suggested making him a member of the House instead.

Who directed Thunderbolts*?

His pitch presentation reportedly 'blew away' Marvel executives; he brought several collaborators over from Beef.

What does the asterisk in the title turn out to mean?

Schreier suggested the asterisk in his pitch to imply they needed 'something better'; marketing switched to The New Avengers after opening weekend.

Where does the film open, with Yelena destroying a laboratory?

Filming took place at Medan Pasar square and the Merdeka 118 skyscraper there.

What position does Valentina Allegra de Fontaine hold in the film?

She is facing impeachment for her work with the O.X.E. Group.

What is the name of the corporation behind Project Sentry?

Valentina sends her operatives to a covert O.X.E. facility to kill each other and be incinerated along with the evidence.

Which member of the group is killed in the opening trap?

Ghost kills her in the confusion before the survivors realise they have all been set up.

Who plays Bob Reynolds, the amnesiac found in a suspended-animation pod?

Another actor was cast first but left after the strike delays, and Pullman was Marvel's top choice to replace him.

What happens when Yelena and Walker first touch Bob?

It foreshadows the Void's ability to trap people in their own trauma.

What has the former Avengers Tower been renamed?

The film establishes that Valentina is the one who bought it from Tony Stark back in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Where does the name 'Thunderbolts' come from?

The U.S. Agent is the one who coins it.

What job is Alexei Shostakov doing when he overhears Valentina's plot?

It lets him swoop in and rescue Yelena, Walker and Ava.

Who is Mel, played by Geraldine Viswanathan?

Ayo Edebiri was originally cast; Mel tips off Bucky and later uses the kill switch on Bob.

How is Bob's power described relative to the Avengers?

His abilities include flight, super strength and speed, invulnerability and telekinesis.

What triggers the emergence of the Void?

The Void is described as the embodiment of Bob's depression and insecurities, amplified by the procedure.

What does the Void do to New York's citizens?

Its shadow imagery came from a real historical tragedy.

Where does Yelena find Bob hiding inside the Void?

It is where he hid from his abusive father as a boy.

How is the Void finally defeated?

Writer Eric Pearson always wanted the climax to be a hug rather than a fight.

What nickname did the writers give the Void's spaces that manifest each character's greatest humiliation?

Executive producer Brian Chapek came up with the idea of entering the Void to beat Sentry.

How does Valentina escape apprehension at the end?

She takes credit for their actions and the group goes along with it.

In the post-credits scene, who is suing the New Avengers for trademark infringement?

He has his own Avengers team; the scene is set fourteen months later.

What arrives at the end of the post-credits scene?

It is the Fantastic Four's ship entering Earth-616; the scene was shot on the Avengers: Doomsday set a month before release.

Which Netflix series' team, including writer Lee Sung Jin, rejoined the director on Thunderbolts*?

They saw the film as a chance to explore that show's ideas on a bigger scale.

Before Sentry was added, who was going to be the main antagonist?

Valentina was to manipulate him into thinking his serum was wearing off.

Which swamp creature did Schreier consider putting on the team while pitching?

Pearson said the character kept pulling attention away from Bob.

What was the film's working title, a reference to a Cap'n Crunch cereal variant?

Filming began in February 2024 at Trilith and Atlanta Metro Studios.

In which US state were the film's remote outdoor locations shot?

Emery and Grand counties were chosen because they felt 'untouched by the larger world'.

Which actor was originally cast as Sentry before leaving over the delayed schedule?

He had worked with Schreier on Beef and the character was added with him in mind.

Which actress asked to have her executive producer credit removed because she had no involvement?

The teaser trailer had listed the former Black Widow as an executive producer.

Which band composed the score, recording at Abbey Road?

Member Ryan Lott had scored Schreier's Paper Towns.

A March 2025 trailer was cut in the style of which indie studio's marketing?

It debuted on Letterboxd with techno music and title cards listing the cast's arthouse credits.

Thunderbolts* was the final film of which MCU era?

The Fantastic Four: First Steps opened Phase Six a few months later.

Where did Thunderbolts* hold its world premiere?

A Los Angeles premiere followed six days later.

Roughly how much did Thunderbolts* gross worldwide?

Variety reckoned it needed an 'unachievable' $425 million to break even on a $180 million budget.

What was the film's production budget?

Marketing added another $100 million, 'slightly cheaper' than usual for the MCU.

What Rotten Tomatoes score did Thunderbolts* receive?

Critics singled out its handling of mental health and the performances of Pugh and Pullman.

What grade did CinemaScore audiences give the film?

Strong word of mouth was not enough to overcome the soft opening.

Which 1967 war film did the director cite when complaining that Avengers: Doomsday casting news spoiled who survives?

Marvel had announced Stan, Russell, Pugh, Pullman, Harbour and John-Kamen for Doomsday before Thunderbolts* opened.

Sebastian Stan compared Bucky's role in the film to which Jack Nicholson character?

Both arrive among a chaotic group whose members need to be united.

What real historical images inspired the Void's powers, according to the director?

Bob's mental-health arc was based on the experiences of a friend of Schreier's.

Which two roles had Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost and Wyatt Russell's Walker debuted in?

Olga Kurylenko's Taskmaster and David Harbour's Red Guardian both came from Black Widow.

Which actress was first cast as Valentina's assistant Mel in January 2023, before Geraldine Viswanathan?

Strike-driven delays reshuffled the cast; Viswanathan said Mel was in high school when the Avengers first assembled.

Which director first floated a Thunderbolts film around 2014, then lost interest after making The Suicide Squad?

He felt DC's team was built on too similar a concept to the Marvel anti-heroes.

Who plays Congressman Gary, who is bent on impeaching Valentina Allegra de Fontaine?

Chris Bauer joined the cast at the same time as O.X.E. security officer Holt.

At which Georgia studio complexes did principal photography begin in February 2024?

Cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo, of Moon Knight, replaced Steve Yedlin and shot the film for IMAX.

Who directed the Fantastic Four post-credits scene, shot on another film's set about a month before release?

It was filmed on the Avengers: Doomsday set and set 14 months after the main story.

Which film-fan platform debuted the A24-style Thunderbolts* trailer in March 2025?

Pugh pitched the movie as an 'indie, A24-feeling assassin movie with Marvel superheroes'.

How did Marvel mark the rebrand to The New Avengers after the opening weekend?

Billboards and marquees were updated too, though Disney said the film was not formally retitled.

Which cinematographer was originally intended to shoot Thunderbolts* before Andrew Droz Palermo took over?

Yedlin is best known as Rian Johnson's regular collaborator.