The Thunderbolts may make their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
On his Patreon, Daniel Richtman reports Falcon and the Winter Soldier will introduce the villainous team, which was led by Baron Zemo in the comics. Daniel Brühl will, of course, reprise that role in the upcoming Disney+ series.
Zemo isn't the only Thunderbolts character making the MCU rounds again. William Hurt's General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, another leading Thunderbolts member, will return in this May's Black Widow film. A MCU-ized team could also tap into characters like Ghost, who survived the events of Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Taskmaster, who will debut in Black Widow.
The Thunderbolts debuted in 1997's The Incredible Hulk #449 by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. At first, they appeared to be a new superhero team who stepped in after the Avengers were "killed" by Onslaught, but they were quickly revealed as a group of villains. Some iterations attempted to buck their villainous pasts and find redemption with new, heroic lives.
The team was initially led by Zemo, who took on the mantle of Citizen V, but he was soon ousted by the villains who truly wanted to become heroes. Subsequently, the team was taken over by do-gooders like Hawkeye, Luke Cage and Ross' Red Hulk. Notably, Bucky Barnes also led a recent iteration of the team.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell and Daniel Brühl and will be available on Disney+ in fall 2020.
via MCU Cosmic