Thunderbolts* D23 Brazil Special Look Trailer Reaction
At D23 Brasil, audiences got a special look at ‘Thunderbolts*’ that will excite them even more for the film. There’s not much of the plot revealed as of yet, but audiences do get a hint about what’s happening wih La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine and the power she is amassing, along with more speculation about what the asterisk really means. It’s a fun action-packed trailer overall.
The trailer opens with an extended look at Red Guardian, U.S. Agent, Ghost, and Yelana trying to evade police (and then Bucky) in Red Guardian’s terrible car. While he might love it, and profess it’s equipped with the latest tech, sadly for the crew it’s just not what they need in the moment. Luckily for them, Bucky clears the police, only to disable the car with a bomb similar that he used as his time as the Winter Soldier. This scene is likely early on in the film, after the team meet in the weird science lab shown at the first part of the trailer. Bucky is likely trying to capture them all for Val.
The fact he’s using the same weapon as he did as his Winter Soldier days hints at a return to the shady work he did back then, which makes sense as his work with Val is not straightforward, it’s always operating in a greyzone. The difference here is that Bucky is choosing to put himself back into that situation, perhaps because he feels lost after what happened in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. Also, Red Guardian finding Bucky cool is cute and again makes sense, since they both have a Russian origin.
Now audiences get confirmation of who bought Avengers Tower, six years after they first learned it was sold in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ way back in 2017. Val remarks that it has good optics, obviously operating in Avengers Tower adds public legitimacy to whatever shady operations she’s got going on, but just because she’s operating from a Tower where heroes once were does not make herself a hero, something the characters in this film know all too well when they mock and insult Val.
Audiences then get a reintroduction to all the characters on the group, with the line from the first trailer that everyone on the team has done bad, or at the very least very morally dubious acts. And likely, under Val, that will continue, not fulfilling them like they all desperately crave. Bob is also shown, though he’s not in his Sentry get up just yet. This leads to several action shots, the most stunning of all is Bucky deflecting a thrown van with his metal arm. That is some feat of strength!
That brings audiences back to the name of the group, and that asterisk. Marvel again draw attention to it, having Red Guardian declare that they’re the Thunderbolts, so called after Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross, who just so happens to be the current President of the USA in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Perhaps, when the team start off working for Val, they do carry this government given callsign, it’s only after (and if) they reject the government they change their name. A second later, and in a different scene, Bucky says they can’t call themselves that. Is he referring to what the team will truely be known as?
Speculation has it that the title of the film will morph into a Dark Avengers film, but that is so far unconfirmed. Audiences will just have to wait and see when the film releases.
‘Thunderbolts*’ will be released in cinemas on May 2, 2025.
