Thunderbolts Trailer: Marvel's Latest Gives Us Our First Glimpse At Villainous Sentry

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.

In case it wasn't already clear that we live in a post-"Avengers: Endgame" world, the new Super Bowl trailer for "Thunderbolts*" hardly pulls its punches: in the absence of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, we need a new class of hero to protect American interests. Fittingly enough, there's nobody more well-suited for the job than a bunch of superhero cast-offs, slightly rehabilitated villains, and antiheroes. Is this very obviously Marvel's answer to DC's Suicide Squad? Maybe. But we ain't complaining! Sometimes, you just need the worst group of misfits you can possibly corral into one semi-functional team.

"Thunderbolts*" is the second highly-anticipated Marvel movie in the works for 2025, following quickly on the heels of "Captain America: Brave New World." This one packs a slightly less idealistic punch, however, as the latest footage makes abundantly clear. 

From director Jake Schreier, the upcoming blockbuster is all about bringing things back to basics and forging a new team altogether — you know, the kind that can "be the heroes on the Wheaties box ... with the little kiddy toy," as Harbour's Red Guardian hilariously puts it. 

The trailer gives us a fresh new look at the villainous Sentry, more of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) quietly sinister pontificating as our favorite blonde-highlighted wildcard, and all sorts of visuals of Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes kicking ass, as well as losing his vibranium arm. 

The wait doesn't quite feel so long now, does it? "Thunderbolts*" — yes, asterisk and all — will shoot its way into theaters May 2, 2025.