'Thunderbolts*' Q&A: Meet the New Crew
Redemption arcs, emotional wreckage, and one death-defying rooftop jump!
The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to evolve, and with Thunderbolts* it takes one of its boldest swings yet. Centered on a ragtag team of anti-heroes, misfits, and morally gray operatives, the film shows us a darker, more grounded take on the traditional superhero ensemble, without losing the action or heart fans expect from Marvel.
On April 27, 2025, I joined other media journalists for a Q&A with the cast and creators of Thunderbolts*. The conversation featured cast members Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), Lewis Pullman (Robert “Bob” Reynolds), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Valentina Allegra de Fontaine), Geraldine Viswanathan (Mel), as well as director Jake Schreier and executive producer Kevin Feige.
Over the course of the session, the cast and crew reflected on the emotional weight of the story, the film’s themes of mental health and redemption, and what it means to be a part of a Marvel story that breaks the superhero mold.
Here is the Q&A:
Q (for Florence Pugh): What did the opening rooftop jump scene mean for Yelena, and how did you approach it?
FLORENCE PUGH: When you're reading it on the page, it did feel like she was stepping off a building alongside the voiceover, as if she was taking her own life. When I read it, I just remember thinking how powerful it was to start a movie like that — and the trust that everybody clearly had, putting a potential stunt like that in the script months before we started shooting.
I was just so impressed by it. And I was also so impressed that, as an audience member, we immediately know what she's feeling. And it's only because she's obviously an assassin that she can land it.
But for someone to jump off a building like that, with the voiceover — it's harrowing. It's not a nice image to have, which is why when she actually steps off, everybody’s stomachs flip. It's an image we only associate with something really, really bad. So I loved being a part of that.
Coming at it from Yelena’s point of view, the way I always thought about her in that opening sequence is that she’s at such a loss. She doesn’t have any reason to be there anymore. She’s lost her sister. She’s lost her family. The relationship with her father has dwindled to nothing.
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