After Marvel"s Thunderbolts* Trailer, I"m Confident It"s Going To Be Much More Than Just The MCU"s Suicide Squad

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After seeing the first trailer for Marvel"s Thunderbolts*, I"m very confident the upcoming movie will be far more than the "MCU"s Suicide Squad". Coming from Warner Bros. and the DCEU, 2016 and 2021"s Suicide Squad movies feature collections of incarcerated criminals coming together to complete missions for the US government. While Thunderbolts* does appear to have some shared DNA concerning that general DC Comics" premise, I do feel that the upcoming MCU movie will be a much bigger affair across the board.
Coming from director Jake Schreier, Marvel Studios" Thunderbolts* is set to debut a brand-new team of characters in the MCU, the majority of whom have been featured in past films. This new roster predominantly includes Sebastian Stan"s Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh"s Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell"s U.S.Agent, David Harbour"s Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen"s Ghost, and Olga Kurylenko"s Taskmaster. Each member has a dark past, and some were even considered villains at one point in the MCU. As such, it"s not hard to see where the Suicide Squad comparisons are coming from, though I know Thunderbolts* is going to be a much bigger affair for the MCU.
Marvel's Thunderbolts* Does Have Similarities To DC's Suicide Squad Morally Compromised Characters Assembling For The Greater Good Close In the DCEU, Director Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) creates Task Force X, a program that puts bombs in the heads of incarcerated villains and dangerous metahumans to coerce their service. They"d then be sent on missions to protect the interests of the US government. Such was the case in David Ayer"s Suicide Squad where these expendable criminals were dispatched to save the world from the magical Enchantress, as well as in James Gunn"s The Suicide Squad which saw a rebooted roster coming together to protect government secrets before defying orders and taking out the galactic psychic starfish known as Starro.
Notable members from both teams included Margot Robbie"s Harley Quinn, Will Smith"s Deadshot, Idris Elba"s Bloodsport, Joel Kinnaman"s Rick Flagg, and John Cena as Peacemaker who"s since received his own spin-off series. An animated spin-off series titled Creature Commandos is set to release at the end of 2024 and is set to feature Davis" Amanda Waller, Sean Gunn"s Weasel, and Frank Grillo as Rick Flagg Sr., and more in the new DC Universe.
The MCU"s Red Guardian actor David Harbour will also be in Creature Commandos as Eric Frankenstein. He also had a small role as a national security advisor in 2016"s Suicide Squad.
Keeping all that in mind, the comparisons between DC"s Suicide Squad movies and the MCU"s upcoming Thunderbolts* movie are easy to make. Based on the new trailer, CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is putting together a team of morally questionable characters to protect the interests of the US government. While they might not be incarcerated criminals with bombs in their heads, the members of this new team aren"t anywhere close to fitting the typical superhero mold. They"re mercenaries, former assassins, and contract killers, though several have tried to live better lives than the ones they"ve lived in the past.
There Are Several Teases Thunderbolts* Is A Much Bigger Story And Team It's Going To Leave A Much Bigger Impact On Its Universe Close Despite all the comparisons, I do believe Thunderbolts* plans to tell a much bigger story that will have greater consequences for the MCU at large. When looking at the DCEU and the Suicide Squad movies, the films don"t really make any sort of major impact on the overarching narratives at play, nor do they carry any sort of significant connections to the rest of the world they"re set in. Conversely, I do think Thunderbolts* will make a very big dent that changes the status quo of the MCU, and there are already several teases as to why.

Related Marvel's Thunderbolts*: Cast, Release Date & Everything We Know With an MCU Thunderbolts* movie officially in development, here"s everything that"s known so far including potential cast, story, & release date.
Firstly, Marvel Studios has been planning Thunderbolts* for a few years now, having built up some of its key characters like Val in prior MCU projects. Val"s connections with other key characters have already been shown, such as with Yelena Belova and John Walker aka U.S.Agent. Likewise, Thunderbolts* is largely using established characters whom MCU fans are invested in, such as Yelena and most notably Bucky Barnes" Winter Soldier, whose journey as a formerly brainwashed assassin now seeking atonement and redemption has been told in the MCU since 2011.
However, Thunderbolts* is also planning to debut Lewis Pullman as The Sentry. Real name Bob Reynolds, Sentry is one of Marvel Comics" most powerful characters of all time. As such, it"s very unlikely a character with so much power won"t have a greater MCU impact. Combined with what was once Avengers Tower being shown in the trailer and the asterisk in the title teasing a major secret or evolution of the team by the film"s end, all signs are pointing to some very big changes for the MCU with Thunderbolts*.
I'm Confident Marvel's Thunderbolts* Will Be Much Bigger Than The Suicide Squad (It's Going To Surprise People)

It seems clear in my mind that Thunderbolts* in 2025 will result in a major shakeup for the MCU going forward. Likewise, it"s more than likely that this new team will end up becoming far more connected with the MCU"s overall narrative than DC"s Suicide Squad movies and its characters ever were for the DCEU. At any rate (and regardless of the comparisons being made), Marvel"s Thunderbolts* does look like it will be a very exciting time with a very impressive cast.

Thunderbolts* (2025) Not Yet Rated AdventureAction Marvel's Thunderbolts* is a superhero movie based on the comic team of the same name. The movie acts as a part of the MCU's fifth phase of films. The film sees the likes of Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell, the Red Guardian, and more as an unlikely group of heroes and villains brought together to fight for good.
Director Jake Schreier Release Date May 2, 2025 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Writers Lee Sung-jin , Eric Pearson , Joanna Calo Cast Florence Pugh , Sebastian Stan , David Harbour , Wyatt Russell , Olga Kurylenko , Hannah John-Kamen , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Geraldine Viswanathan , Lewis Pullman , Joshua Mikel Character(s) Yelena Belova , James Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier , Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian , John Walker / U.S. Agent , Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster , Ava Starr / Ghost , Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine , Mel , Bob / Robert Reynolds / The Sentry , Bob's Dad Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Budget $200 million Main Genre Action Expand Upcoming MCU Movies