2022's D23 Expo came with a flurry of exciting announcements for all things Disney. With updates on numerous projects, including National Treasure, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and even the Star Wars universe with Andor, it was a great day to be a Disney fan. Among these announcements, however, the Marvel Cinematic Universe predictably dominated hype and online discussion in the immediate aftermath. From Disney+'s Ironheart to Captain America: New World Order, the MCU essentially used D23 as a second Hall H. All excitement aside, there was one reveal that was relatively inauspicious: the cast of Phase Five's Thunderbolts.
Set to cap off Marvel's fifth phase before heading into the end of the Multiverse Saga, Thunderbolts has been one of the most long-awaited and discussed topics of the post-Infinity Saga MCU. In an otherwise disparate Phase Four, one of the few gratifying thru-lines was the steady assembling of a shadowy version of the Avengers comprised of anti-heroes and outright villains that directly mirror current and former members. And with the announcement of a new Daredevil TV series and Alden Ehrenreich's ominous Ironheart casting, the faux-Avengers roster seemed tantalizingly clear.
The biggest names included Yelena Belova (the sister and successor of deceased Black Widow), US Agent (the disgraced former Captain America) and Abomination, Hulk's first foe, who became suspiciously prevalent in Phase Four. But while Daredevil's Bullseye, Ehrenreich's rumored Zeke Stane and even Love and Thunder's Hercules are decent theories for Hawkeye, Iron Man and Thor stand-ins, respectively, their absence from D23's casting announcement was nowhere near as shocking as the lack of Abomination. In fact, there are essentially no super-powered individuals on the team at all.
Of course, surprise additions the Red Guardian and the Winter Soldier, as well as the U.S.Agent, are all super soldiers with enhanced speed, strength and durability. Yet, all these "powers" share a peculiar trait -- they're easy to portray practically. As has been well documented, Marvel Studios' relationship with the visual effects companies that create the computer-generated magic necessary for its films (like, say, turning Tim Roth into a ten-foot-tall rage monster) is becoming dramatically strained. VFX workers cite tight, unreasonable deadlines and unconscionable workloads, so much so that the studio is allegedly considering creating its own in-house VFX studio -- a move that would be sidestepping a critical issue rather than solving it. But it seems telling that this story should gain traction no less than a month before D23's underwhelming Thunderbolts reveal.
Though Thunderbolts is anticipated, it's also a bit of a risk for the studio. For the most part, Marvel has kept its on-screen morality very clear, especially in the films. Even in projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Black Widow, which claim to blur the lines between good and evil, by the end, all debts have been paid, and all slates have been cleared. While Thunderbolts may end up presenting the same deceptively sterile morality, it clearly wants to be more complicated and has the potential to be so.
Perhaps, then, Marvel Studios -- wanting to be more careful of when it relies on VFX -- doesn't want to dump money and, more importantly, limited time and labor into an unknown quantity. What's more, She-Hulk's much-derided CGI may have the studio hesitant to use entirely CGI characters. In any case, if this Thunderbolts lineup reflects Marvel's assessment of risk, it shows a worrying disconnect between what it thinks will sell and what fans have been screaming for since Phase Four began.