According to David Harbour, the Thunderbolts are the “losers” of the MCU. The actor of “Stranger Things” made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in “Black Widow” (2021) as Alexei Shostakov, dubbed “Red Guardian,” the father figure to Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova and a Russian super-solider. At the recent D23 Expo, the cast/roles for the upcoming Thunderbolts movie, commanded by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, were announced. It includes Red Guardian, Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Yelena, John Walker/U.S. Agent, Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster, and Ava Starr/Ghost.
Harbour promoted his upcoming holiday film Violent Night on ComicBook.com’s Phase Zero podcast, where he also discussed Thunderbolts. The Red Guardian actor teased what to anticipate from the new superteam while calling the Thunderbolts the “losers” of the MCU when asked how they stack up against the Avengers. Take a look at what Harbour has to say below:
We’re like losers, which I like. We’re the losers. I think it’s fun to watch us just mess everything up. It’s very funny. There’s also a lot of pathos in that. There’s a lot of drama in a bunch of people who just keep getting their lives wrong and keep messing things up because of character flaws. Nobody gives them the respect that they do to Captain America and Iron Man, very capable people. So there’s a lot to draw on there. I think there’s a lot of movie there that will be fun. It has all this cool action and cool comedy from what has been described to me.
Since the Thunderbolts are essentially Marvel’s response to DC’s Suicide Squad, Harbour’s assessment that they are the “losers” of the MCU is spot on. In the comics, the Thunderbolts, a group of former supervillains, was introduced after the deaths of several Avengers. The Thunderbolts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are not accorded the same degree of respect as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. However, they appear to be led by an ex-Avenger in Bucky Barnes. Red Guardian, Harbour’s own creation, is the Russian equivalent of Captain America and is arguably just as capable, nonetheless. However, in Black Widow, he was more of a comedic relief character than a serious hero.
While Daniel Brühl was expected to play Baron Zemo, leader of the Thunderbolts in the comics, his name was noticeably absent from the cast announcement earlier this year. In addition to Harbour, the film will also star Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Harrison Ford, who will take over as Secretary Thaddeus Ross. Jake Schreier (kidding, Lodge 49) is directing the movie with Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow) as a scriptwriter.
However, it remains to be seen how far into the darkness the MCU leads the Thunderbolts. It appears from Harbour’s comments that the Thunderbolts film will emphasize the humorous side of the squad. Their characters might depict “mess up everything up,” much like James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad did, without disregarding the tragic undertones inherent in those character flaws. In any case, MCU’s Thunderbolts movie finally hits theatres on July 26, 2024. Only then will the audiences find out how the MCU deals with the comparable concerns present in its source material and how it serves as a counterbalance to the Avengers.
