With ‘Thunderbolts*’ barreling toward its highly anticipated release, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is once again preparing audiences for a new kind of team-up movie, one that feels darker, grittier, and far more morally complicated than anything we’ve seen before.
Rather than a bright band of polished heroes, Thunderbolts pulls together damaged souls and former villains, all under the manipulative eye of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. So, to truly feel the weight of this movie, there are a handful of MCU projects you need to dive into first.
MCU Movies That Laid The Groundwork For ‘Thunderbolts*’
If there’s a beating heart within ‘Thunderbolts*’, it has to be Yelena Belova. Yelena’s pain, her yearning for family, and her razor-sharp wit instantly won her a place among fan favorites. So, ‘Black Widow’ is a must-watch. The film wasn’t just her introduction, it also brought us David Harbour’s Red Guardian and Olga Kurylenko’s silent, tragic Taskmaster.
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Rewatching ‘Black Widow’ reminds fans of the complicated threads binding these characters together. Meanwhile, ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ plays an equally crucial role in shaping this team, particularly when it comes to Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, aka U.S. Agent. Watching Walker’s descent from hopeful Captain America successor to disgraced government weapon is like watching a slow-motion train wreck.
His arc wasn’t about falling from grace; it was about never being allowed to truly climb in the first place. Walker’s brutal public breakdown still lingers heavily in the minds of fans. And then there’s Bucky Barnes. If there’s anyone who understands regret and second chances, it’s the Winter Soldier himself. In ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’, we see Bucky grapple with his violent past. We also see him try to find peace in a world that still views him as a ticking time bomb.
A Brief Bucky Barnes Scene Makes ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ A Necessary Watch
One of the more intriguing returns in ‘Thunderbolts*’ is Ava Starr, aka Ghost. It’s been nearly seven years since we last saw her in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’. In the film, she wasn’t so much a villain as she was a desperate survivor. Her body phasing uncontrollably through dimensions was both a superpower and a curse, and her entire arc centered around survival, not domination.
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Ghost was a reminder that sometimes, people become threats not out of ambition, but out of raw, desperate need. Watching ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ again frames Ghost not as a villain to be defeated, but as a wounded soul. Then there’s the shadow looming large over the entire movie: the events of ‘Captain America: Brave New World’. While ‘Thunderbolts*’ doesn’t directly spin out of the entire film, one critical moment involving Bucky Barnes makes it essential to watch.
After aiding Sam Wilson’s rise as the new Captain America, Bucky finds himself trying to believe in a world that still wants to hold him accountable for his sins. By the end of ‘Brave New World’, Bucky’s grasp at political normalcy, running for Congress, seems positioned to be ripped away. The trailers hint at his fall from grace, with courtroom scenes showing a man once again caught in a system that never truly forgave him.
