Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts*’ Will Tackle Issues Surrounding Mental Health

When the Thunderbolts assemble next year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will see the formation of a new kind of superhero team.

As opposed to the heroic Avengers, the Thunderbolts live in a morally gray area.

Assembled by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julie Louis-Dreyfus), the new team will be comprised of Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and U.S. Agent ( Wyatt Russell).

Disney

“There are good guys, and you’re bad guys,” Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. “But there are worse guys.”

Thunderbolts* Will Explore Its Characters’ Psyche

While Thunderbolts* will surely feature the kind of action and humor that have come to characterize the MCU, according to the film’s cast, it will also explore and tackle issues surrounding mental health.

Photo: Marvel

“It’s Marvel’s first indie film,” Louis-Dreyfus quipped.

“I don’t think Alexei’s in the best place, and there’s a bit of an estrangement happening,” Harbour explained to EW.

Photo: MCU

“Part of the film is — for a lot of these characters, not to get too deep on it — but it deals a little bit with mental illness and self-hatred, for sure, and the tripping over yourself. Part of what this family dynamic is about is overcoming these things in themselves to unlock who they really are as people.”

Diving Deeper

For Russell, who is reprising his role as U.S. Agent from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Thunderbolts* afforded him the ability to dive deeper into his character.

Photo: Marvel

“What I am really excited for people to see is the inner workings that we were able to create with the characters that you don’t often get to dive that far into because the kicks are so good that you just don’t even have time to get character development,” he explained.

Photo: Polygon

“This time, we really focused on that, and I think that it’s special that way. Go for the kicks, stay for the emotional complexity and the mental health issues.”

Thunderbolts* will hit theaters May 2, 2025.