It’s been five years since the last Avengers sequel. The Marvel Cinematic Universe could really use a new team of heroes.
Instead, get to know the Rays.
Or maybe the Thunderbolts* with the asterisk — for some reason Wonder refuses to explain, this is the official title of the film. Based on the Marvel comic book series, the film features a group of Marvel anti-heroes, villains, and misfits all gathered together as one team. In the film, their ranks include By Florence Pugh Black Widow, Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier, Wyatt Russell’s U.S. Agent, Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, and David Harbour’s Red Guardian.
They’re like Marvel’s answer to Suicide Squad. And their version of Amanda Waller, the amoral spy who calls the shots, is Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the shady government agent who’s appeared in several recent MCU projects, where she’s tried to recruit most of these characters to her cause.
You’ll see her, along with the entire crew, in the film’s first trailer below.
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Lewis Pullman’s “Bob” may seem like a mild-mannered guy, but he’s secretly the most powerful member of the group; Bob is actually the Sentry, a Marvel hero who served in the Avengers and who is essentially Marvel’s equivalent of Superman. (In Marvel, the guy who’s Superman is also his own arch-nemesis; he has an evil alternate personality known as The Void.)
There is also a new teaser poster for the film.
Here is the official synopsis for the film:
Marvel Studios and a team of sold-out indie veterans present “Thunderbolts,” an irreverent team-up featuring depressed assassin Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) alongside the MCU’s least-expected band of misfits. The film also returns to the big screen Marvel Cinematic Universe characters Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), plus some exciting new faces.
Rays* is scheduled to open in theaters on May 2, 2025.
Actors You Forgot Were Part of the MCU
These wonderful (and very famous) actors appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Their roles were so inconsequential that most people have forgotten about them.
