The cast and crew of Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* sat down with the press to talk about the movie, its themes, and even the future of Marvel movies. The press conference included Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hannah John-Kamen, Geraldine Viswanathan, Lewis Pullman, Kevin Feige, Sebastian Stan, Jake Schreier, and Wyatt Russell.
Kicking it off, because Florence Pugh is really the star of the show, she talked about her character Yelena Belova in the film.
“But in terms of, yeah, coming at it from Florence, when I read the script and I opened the first page, it was such an impressive way to start the movie, and it really, really allowed me to understand where she was. When you’re reading it, you know, on a page, it did feel like she was stepping off a building alongside with the voiceover as if she was taking her own life. And when I read it, I just remember thinking how powerful it was to start a movie like that, and the trust that, you know, clearly everybody was already having in putting a potential stunt in a script like that from many, many months before we started shooting. I was just so impressed by it. And I also was just so impressed instantly how, as an audience member, we knew exactly where she was feeling. And it was only because she’s obviously an assassin that she can land it.
Here’s what David Harbour had to say about his character Red Guardian in the film.
I mean, you know, there’s something, you could argue that his obsession with the rekindling his glory comes from a derangement of failure in all these dark places. And yet it also he’s just loves being a superhero. And I think there is a portion of me as I act that has a very detailed backstory, dark things to it. And then there’s also just me as a kid putting on a super suit, like in a Marvel movie, sitting in a thing with all these amazing, incredible actors who I adore and just being like, guys, we get to like hang out today, [laugh] I mean, there’s a puppy quality to him.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns as Contessa Valentina de Allegra in this film and she had some incredible insights into the character during the press conference.
Actually I would say it’s different from playing a character week to week on a episodic television show. And I would say, on television, of course, as you get into the rhythm of playing a character, of course you get to know the character more. But in this case, it was a toe dip and a little bit of a toe dip and a toe dip. And in this particular film, you really get to know who this person is. And so this experience, albeit I loved everything before, but this was a lot to chew on and a lot to explore from a sort of, well, I’m referring to her as sort of an anti-villain, the way these guys are anti-heroes.
Because I think that you get an opportunity to understand maybe why she is the way she is. And doesn’t necessarily excuse things, but it’s understanding. And frankly, it’s the way you approach a character under all circumstances, whether they’re so-called good guy or bad guy, which is without judgment. And so that was a really exciting way to approach Valentina and her drive.
Lewis Pullman’s character Bob/Sentry is one of the best in the film, a very nuanced and richly fleshed-out character. Here’s what he had to say about it.
I think, you know, and having so many conversations with Jake and Kevin about, you know, how to toe this line, right? Of hitting some of these, you know, less discussed topics, at least in kind of, you know, larger scale films like this in a way that didn’t feel like it was a PSA, but that was very grounded and has had as much truth from where we were coming from as possible. I think that was the way to kind of, you know, hit the bullet with the bullet. And I think, yeah, I mean, I relate to you. You know, I grew up, you know, pretty anxious and, you know, suffering from depression.
And that is like not a fun thing to talk about. So it feels weird to even say out loud right now. But like, I think that was a big goal in this film. Was to be like, all right, let’s kind of get rid of that kind of weird quaky feeling that you get when you bring it up and when you talk about it, because that’s what, you know, this movie’s all about. Is that when you do, you know, you’re liable to get caught if you just jump, you know? And if you have people around you, you know, and just it’s in the silence where really the suffering kind of occurs.
Finally there was the obligatory question to Kevin Feige about the future of Marvel and where we are headed. And of course there was the obligatory Kevin Feige non-answer to a question about the future of Marvel (all in good fun).
Well, I mean, that’s where we’re headed and we’ve announced those next few films.
Thunderbolts* releases in theaters on May 2nd, 2025.
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