Deadline reports that production on Thunderbolts has been paused: filming should have begun in three weeks in Atlanta, but Marvel Studios has decided to postpone it until the writers’ strike is over . The crew was notified yesterday.
It’s the third Marvel Cinematic Universe project to come to a halt due to unrest from the Writers Guild Association : production on Blade was halted twenty days ago , just as Nic Pizzolatto was rewriting the script; the filming of the Wonder Man series , on the other hand, has been suspended in recent days.
The latter and Thunderbolts will be able to resume when the strike is over, while for Blade it is not clear, as it depends on the state in which the script is. Work on Deadpool 3 began this week , and for now it seems to be going smoothly. Any rewriting of some scenes, however, will have to take place after the end of the strike, and be included in the reshoots .
Returning to Thunderbolts , the release date remains set for July 26, 2024 in US theaters, but everything will depend on the length of the strike. If filming were to be delayed for too long, Disney and Marvel could be forced to postpone the distribution of the film.
We will keep you posted.
The team
The team will consist of:
- Julia Louis-Dreyfuss as Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine
- David Harbor as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian
- Wyatt Russell as John Walker / US Agent
- Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / Ghost
- Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow
- Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster
- Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier
Also starring Ayo Edebiri and Steven Yeun .
The screenwriter
Eric Pearson , former writer of Agent Carter, Thor: Ragnarok, Godzilla vs. Kong, Black Widow and some Marvel One-Shots , wrote the first version of the script. The new draft was entrusted to Lee Sung Jin , known for It’s always sunny in Philadelphia, 2 Broke Girls, Girlboss, Silicon Valley, Dave and Beef .
Director
Marvel Studios gave Thunderbolts to Jake Schreier . The Californian director has many experiences in music videos, having collaborated with Francis and the Lights, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Haim, Baby Keem and Kanye West . He has directed two films: the delightfully intimate sci-fi Robot & Frank , and the adaptation of John Green’s novel Paper Towns . He has also worked in various TV series, such as I’m Dying Up Here, Lodge 49, The new cherry flavor and Kidding . His pitching for the Thunderbolts movie is said to have made a huge impression on company executivesMarvel in recent weeks, getting him the project.
The Thunderbolts
Created by Kurt Busiek (story) and Mark Bagley (art) in 1997, the Thunderbolts are a group of super-villains brought together by Zemo after the demise of the Avengers , Fantastic 4 , and other heroes, who apparently died in the final battle with Onslaught . By hiding their true identities behind the masks of new superheroes, the team members fill the void left by the Avengers , but in reality Zemo – who takes on the alter ego of Citizen V – plans to enter the good graces of public opinion and SHIELDto achieve criminal objectives. Over the years, the group has gone through several incarnations, some more heroic and some more dark. The Winter Soldier himself led a version of the team.