The new kid on the block known as Marvel Studios’Thunderboltshas been stirring up quite the speculation storm among the fandom. Enticing audiences with the potential of a villain-focused movie, it looks like it just might be the shake-up needed to keep things fresh in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But interested folks still don’t quite know what to expect.
That’s where fan artists come in. WhenThunderboltswas announced with director Jake Schreier, even that much info was only enough to intrigue fans of Schreier’s works like the curiousRobot & Frank. But the comics that inspired it quickly got fans into some fascinating discussions, particularly given how certain characters have already been teased as potential stars for the film. So a few of the more creative sorts decided to channel that speculation into a visual medium.
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Digital artistRahal Nejraouiwas among the quickest to leap into action. Using the various Marvel characters speculated as part of the potentialThunderboltsroster, they created a rather convincing theoretical poster for the movie. Fans will quickly recognizeWyatt Russell as John Walker/US Agent, whose return after appearing on the Disney Plus seriesThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierhas been pretty heavily teased. But others in the artwork should easily inspire just as much excitement.
The eclectic team of potential anti-heroes also includes Taskmaster and Yelena Belova fromBlack Widow, Ghost fromAnt-Man and the Wasp, Abomination fromThe Incredible Hul, and the upcomingShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and both Bucky Barnes and Baron Zemo, last seen inThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It’s an eclectic bunch, to be sure, and even if only half of them turn out to actually be in the movie, it’s sure to be one heck of a ride. At the very least, maybeBaron Zemo will get another dance party started.
TheThunderboltscomics follow a team of reformed supervillains originally started by Baron Zemo as a decidedly less-than-beneficial group. Many fans likely guessed that an MCU adaptation was coming when Julia Louis-Dreyfus’Valentina Allegra de Fontaine began recruiting characterslike the disgraced John Walker inThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierand Yelena inBlack Widow. It doesn’t take much imagination to see similarities betweenThunderboltsand DC’sSuicide Squad, which follows a team of supervillains forced to do some heroic dirty work. But in the case ofThunderbolts, it appears the characters' involvement is far more voluntary.
At the very least, it looks as though John Walker and Yelena Belova are all but confirmed for the team. But the rest of Nejraoui’s picks also seem like pretty solid choices. Odds are that more news will be revealed soonregarding the officialThunderboltsroster, so here’s hoping it’s close to as hype-worthy as this piece of fan art is.
