Sebastian Stan has explained what attracted him to star in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts.
According to The Direct, the Winter Soldier actor was on stage with the rest of the Thunderbolts cast at the D23 Expo 2022 to talk about the upcoming film, which is set to close out Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "Well, listen, you know, these are my kinds of people," explained Stan as to why Bucky Barnes was part of the titular team. "They look like a good troubled bunch, and maybe I know a thing or two about that, and I’m just really glad to be back and, I guess, join a team of some sort."
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige initially unveiled the cast for Thunderbolts with a piece of promotional artwork, which confirmed that the team would be composed entirely of previously seen MCU characters. Joining the Winter Soldier on the Thunderbolts are Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) was also pictured and is expected to be responsible for assembling the group similar to how Nick Fury assembled Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the first Avengers film.
Bucky Barnes' MCU Journey
Stan first played Bucky Barnes in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, which depicted the character's supposed death, falling from a moving train. However, 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier revealed that Barnes had survived the fall, but was captured by HYRDA and turned into a mind-controlled super soldier assassin for the evil organization. The character's journey continued in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018), which saw Barnes cured of his brainwashing and reuniting with his best friend Steve Rogers/Captain America to fight Thanos and his army. The character was dusted in the closing moments of Infinity War but was resurrected in Avengers: Endgame (2019) with his story continuing into the 2021 Disney+ limited series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Thunderbolts will pick up after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and see Barnes once again working with the U.S. Agent, who he briefly fought alongside in the series finale of the 2021 Disney+ series. Fiege has stated that the Thunderbolts are neither the Howling Commandos nor the Avengers, two teams Barnes has previously served on that were filled with heroes. "It tell[s] you a lot about the team when beloved Winter Soldier is the most stable among them," Feige revealed, suggesting that the team may have some growing pains during their first mission together.
Feige also revealed that the Avengers team will no longer exist when Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts are released in 2024. The Thunderbolts will instead be seen by the citizens of Earth-616 as Earth's mightiest heroes.
Directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts is slated to open in theaters on July 24, 2024.
Source: The Direct