All told, Marvel Studios will probably be happy to bid farewell to Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe when its concluding installment, “Thunderbolts*,” kicks off the 2025 summer movie season in May. Though there have been a couple of blockbusters in this six-film cycle (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “Deadpool & Wolverine”), the phase got off to a rough start in 2023 with the critical and commercial disappointment of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” It then went on to hit even choppier waters with the box office failure of “The Marvels,” leading some to wonder if the MCU’s spectacular run, which stretches back to 2008’s “Iron Man,” had finally come to an end.
With Marvel having caught a breather in 2024 with the preordained success of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” we’ll finally learn just how much (or little) audiences are invested in the ongoing MCU saga when “Captain America: Brave New World” hits theaters on February 14, 2025. But that film, even with Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson carying the shield previously wielded by Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, is an established brand. Not to mention, Marvel has revealed in its marketing that Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus Ross will turn into the Red Hulk, so there’s a good deal of sizzle there that should at least generate a huge opening weekend.
“Thunderbolts*” is a different matter entirely. It’s a team movie anchored by the always-great Florence Pugh, but her Yelena Belova is only one whole movie (“Black Widow”) and TV show (“Hawkeye”) into her Marvel run. Though audiences generally dug the former (/Film’s own “Black Widow” review, admittedly, deemed the film a “big disappointment”), they’re still getting to know the character. As such, the jury’s out as to how amped up moviegoers will be to see her hook up with Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell). Yes, they’ve got a trump card in Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier, but is he enough to pack ’em in?
The just-released Super Bowl trailer for “Thunderbolts*” might offer some clarity on this conundrum.
Thunderbolts* looks like a misfits-on-a-mission romp
There’s action aplenty here, and the actors are all immensely appealing (Harbour’s bumbling shtick as Red Guardian sets him up as the MCU’s answer to John Cena’s Peacemaker from the DC Universe). Still, given that it arrives less than three months after the release of “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts*” could be too much Marvel too soon. Then again, with “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” looming on the horizon in July, it could also be the perfect transition into Phase Six.
How does the trailer play on the whole?
“Thunderbolts*” blasts into multiplexes on May 2, 2025.