Thunderbolts* ‘Fundamentally Changes’ the MCU, Says David Harbour

Thunderbolts* has “fundamentally changed” the whole course of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), according to Red Guardian actor David Harbour. 

Directed by Jake Schreier from a screenplay written by Lee Sung Jin, Thunderbolts* assembles antiheroes and supervillains from previous MCU features like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow. Meanwhile, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige promised that the asterisk at the end of the title will be explained as soon as the movie comes out. 

Now that Thunderbolts* has already wrapped production, the Stranger Things star teased that the upcoming movie would alter the MCU, though he didn’t elaborate on how. 

“Our characters are going to interact with something that we don’t really understand, and it fundamentally changes the course of the way things expand,” Harbour told ComicBook. “That’s all I’m saying. Oh my God, I’m getting calls tomorrow.”

His comments were in response to his previous interview with the outlet, in which he said: “There is a bomb drop thing we add to the universe, which will be very exciting for the movie to do at the end of this particular phase that we’re ending.”

Who else stars in Thunderbolts*?

In addition to Harbour as Red Guardian (also known as Alexei Shostakov), the rest of the Thunderbolts* cast members include Sebastian Stan (Fresh) as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh (Midsommar) as Yelena Belova, Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Wyatt Russell (Night Swim) as John Walker/ US Agent, Hannah John-Kamen (The Stranger) as Ava Starr/Ghost, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Olga Kurylenko (Oblivion) as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster, and Lewis Pullman (Outer Range) as Bob/Sentry, among others. 

Other details about Thunderbolts* remain under wraps, but it is expected to hit theaters on May 2, 2025. It will serve as the last part of the MCU‘s Phase Five.