It might be easy to say that there are plenty of similarities between the Suicide Squad and the Thunderbolts*. Both teams feature former villains attempting to get their act together after being imprisoned. Both movies are trying to launch a franchise for fans to enjoy until the Avengers and the Justice League return to cinemas. But if there’s one person who believes that the teams are different, it’s Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier. During a recent interview with Fortress of Solitude, the filmmaker was excited to dive deep into what makes his Thunderbolts team different from anything viewers have seen in cinemas before. The concepts might sound similar, but what the Thunderbolts are about to do in the MCU isn’t what the Suicide Squad was assembled for.
As Schreier explains: “Well, that was what was so smart about Eric Pearson’s script, and what Brian Chapek had developed with him, was that it had this twist on that. From the beginning, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is sending them to kill each other, not to be some kind of rogue team to do black ops with. So, right from the get-go, I felt like that distinguished it, and then it felt like we could make our mark by going into a much more internal character place, make it more about internal struggles than external ones, and find some level of difference there.” It sounds like the Thunderbolts are getting ready for a fight.
Thunderbolts* will follow Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) after the events of Black Widow. The young secret agent will be sent on a dangerous mission that will also involve characters such as Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and the Red Guardian (David Harbour). Thunderbolts* will be one of the final MCU movies released before the arrival of Avengers: Doomsday. Most of the characters from the production directed by Jake Schreier will be back in next year’s massive crossover event.
[ RELATED: Thunderbolts* Debuts on Rotten Tomatoes With Impressive Score ]
Even if Thunderbolts* doesn’t want to be too similar to Suicide Squad, the new team is hoping to see similar box office success, as the first Suicide Squad film earned more than $700 million at the global box office. That amount of money would certainly be beneficial for Marvel Studios ahead of the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. But there’s already one field in which Marvel is taking more advantage than the competition. Characters from Thunderbolts* are coming back for Avengers: Doomsday next year, regardless of this installment’s box office results. By comparison, it took many years for Warner Bros. to produce a sequel to Suicide Squad (2016).
The world is days away from finding out if audiences will embrace Thunderbolts*. The last installment of the franchise, Captain America: Brave New World, only managed to earn $414 million at the global box office. Thunderbolts* will have a couple of free weeks before the competition arrives, with Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning set to both gain plenty of attention when they premiere in theaters. In the meantime, Thunderbolts* will attempt to launch a new franchise for Disney and Marvel Studios, as the MCU nears the biggest crossover event it has ever produced.
Thunderbolts* will be released in theaters this week.
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