Everyone wants to be a hero. But is anyone really ever ready to take on the role?
Directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* begins as Yelena (Florence Pugh) is struggling to find meaning in her life. Though she’s still an elite operative, she finds no joy in her work anymore. However, after CIA director Valentina Allegra De Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) double crosses her on one last mission, Yelena finds herself abandoned with a group of castaway heroes and villains such as John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). As Valentina’s terrifying motives are finally revealed, the group of misfits will be forced to team up to help save the world, even if they’re the ones that need help themselves.
What truly sets Thunderbolts* apart from other MCU fare is the way that it combines action with in-depth conversations surrounding mental health. For example, although the film begins with startling jump off of the roof of a building, in a recent press conference, Florence Pugh shared that she was not only impressed at the prospect of the stunt but she was also astounded at the way that it played into the growth of her character.
“Firstly, I’d just like to say, obviously none of the stunts are possible without like any of the stuntees and the riggers and the choreo that has been designed by brilliant stunts for weeks prior to shooting,” she starts. “So obviously, as much as I like to say that I did a portion of my stunts, there’s also plenty in the movie that aren’t me. So, just [laugh], I don’t want to claim all of it.“
“But in terms of, yeah, coming at it [as myself], when I read the script and I opened the first page, it was such an impressive way to start the movie, and it really, really allowed me to understand where she was. When you’re reading it, you know, on a page, it did feel like she was stepping off a building alongside with the voiceover as if she was taking her own life… I was just so impressed by it. And I also was just so impressed instantly how, as an audience member, we knew exactly where she was feeling… It’s not a nice image to have, which is why when she actually steps off, everybody’s stomachs do just flip. It’s an image that we only all associate with something is really, really bad. So I loved being a part of that. Coming at it from Yelena, the way that I always thought about her in that opening sequence is that she is at such a loss. She doesn’t have any reason to be there anymore. She’s lost her sister, she’s lost her family. The relationship with her father is dwindled to nothing. And she’s in such a state and a frame of mind that she’s happy to put herself at risk.”
This theme of emotional struggle carries through every member of the Thunderbolts*. Holding space for themes of self-loathing, depression and the weight of failure, each character is burdened by their past in a way that has determined who they are in the present. For Hannah John-Kamen, the return of Ghost allowed her the chance to look at the loneliness experienced by her character, a feeling that she felt with which she could connect.
“There’s always a connection as an actor with your character,” says John-Kamen. And, with Ghost, originally, she’s battling the whole movie in Antman and the Wasp with imminent pain and death and this volatile kind of volcanic disruption and eruption of her physicality. And she makes very immature, desperate survival decisions to survive. And where we find her in Thunderbolts* is she’s very much grown up. Her maturity of control and power and being able to control herself is, I think, a dangerous one. I think she’s scarier in this movie. And I think it’s, yeah, and there’s a power and it’s empowering. And not having that distraction of pain and imminent death anymore. And what she’s very much built is Fort Knox of herself, which is basically this guard that she has very much up and no one can come in.
“And what I think is wonderful about the journey of Ghost is actually understanding that it’s okay to need someone. And it’s okay to be relied on and to rely on other people. And you don’t have to go through life on your own. And finding a family, you deserve it. You do deserve to be loved. Which I think, you know, as an actor, I connect with that part of her very much.”
Similarly, Thunderbolts* also gives opportunity for Wyatt Russell to explore the loneliness inherent in his returning John Walker. Having been cast aside after his failed attempt to become Captain America in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Thunderbolts* sees Wyatt having to carry his burdens on the inside in order to maintain bravado. But that’s the aspect of the character that most appealed to Russell to explore.
“John’s an interesting guy because he really believes in who he is and what he does,” Russell suggests. “And part of Falcon and the Winter Soldier [that] I felt was so important was to portray this new version of an American hero. Steve Rogers was born out of World War II, and he was the guy who jumped on the grenade for selfless reasons. Well, John Walker will jump on the grenade, but he wants to jump on the grenade so someone will film it and put it on Instagram and make him a national hero. And so, they’re not completely selfless reasons… And I like playing that version of an American hero who has to get torn down to a point in his life where it’s very basic aspect of all of us.”
“You gotta get torn down and go to the very bottom and hit rock bottom before you can, you know, start your journey, you know, back to somewhere you wanna be or present yourself as the person you wanna be… You have to put on an armor and you have to just put all your vulnerabilities to the side. You don’t ever admit that you’re feeling bad. You don’t ever wanna talk to anybody about it because the second you do, that’s that little crack of vulnerability can destroy you. And then it’s fun to be able to turn that on its head with a character that really, I think, a lot of those kind of people will identify with and realize that vulnerability actually makes you stronger. It actually does. Admitting the fact that I’m not as good as I think I am will actually make you stronger.”
Of course, being broken by the past is an idea that Sebastian Stan has carried with his character for a long time. Having portrayed Bucky Barnes for 15 years now, he genuinely connects with his traumatized hero’s journey. Even so, for Stan, what makes Thunderbolts* unique is that the journey of these character feels so authentic, creating an opportunity for the viewer to truly connect with them in ways that other Marvel films haven’t allowed.
“I think… what’s at the heart of this film, and I think that’s what people are gonna connect with… is how real all of these characters are,” he points out. “And that they wear their hearts on their sleeve and they’re trying to do the right thing and they don’t know if they have the tools or not. And you started off this sort of, kind of topic of what’s a villain and what’s a hero? And sort of my character’s always been riding that fine line and trying to figure it out himself without losing who he is or trying to regain himself again. And that’s sort of what we do in life. You know, you have to learn from your past. You have to keep moving forward and you’re trying very hard to retain some sort of self. And so I think it was a great place for me to kind of jump into is with everybody here.”
In this spirit, Pugh also recognizes that Thunderbolts* provided an opportunity for her character to genuinely explore her truth. After having suffered the loss of her sister, Yelena is left searching for purpose in a world that seems empty to her. Even so, Pugh believes that this chapter of her character’s journey provides some very real hope for viewers who may be struggling with mental health.
“It’s always very scary, obviously, when you’re playing someone that has a story over years that maybe it might not be respected in the right way, and they might skip a few beats of her healing. And I was just so grateful that we had a script that really represented what maybe someone is feeling after all of the trauma that was given, well, that happened to her. Yeah, she’s incredibly strong. She’s also just so desperate to have a sense of community.”
“I was just very impressed that we were allowed to do it,” she continues. “And we were also allowed to show someone that isn’t well and is obviously not well and doesn’t know how to cope. And she says plenty of times in the movie, like, you know, the first time when she goes to see Alexei, that she’s asking him whether she should stay or not. And she doesn’t really get the answer that she wants. And I think it’s just a very, very impressive thing to see in a Marvel movie that is going to be seen by plenty of people, a message that we all need to constantly learn from and see that we all need to be there for each other. And essentially that’s how she gets saved. She gets saved by this new family. So, yeah, I was hugely grateful to have something to really sink my teeth into.”
The Thunderbolts* is available in theatres on Friday, May 2nd, 2025.
Disney+FeaturesInterviews
