"That Is Not The Story": Thunderbolts* Director Addresses Theories About Who Assembles The MCU"s Avengers Replacement

**"That Is Not The Story": Thunderbolts* Director Addresses Theories About Who Assembles The MCU"s Avengers Replacement**

The director of 2025’s Thunderbolts* has addressed a popular MCU theory about who assembles the titular team, insisting that that is not where the story is headed. In Marvel Comics, the Thunderbolts were initially assembled by Baron Zemo as a team of secretly evil Avengers replacements before subsequent iterations would be led by different characters. Zemo"s apparent absence from the confirmed Thunderbolts* cast, alongside multiple other differences including the Thunderbolts team members, has therefore given rise to multiple theories surrounding who will take his place and the nature of their goals.
CIA Director Valentina Allegra De Fontaine stands at the forefront of these theories, with many believing that she will be pulling the strings for nefarious purposes. The latest Thunderbolts* trailer lends credence to this as she is seen irreverently addressing the team as they stand together. Valentina has already influenced two of the Thunderbolts members, Yelena Belova and John Walker, while the shady pasts of the remaining lineup give Valentina plenty of leverage over them to carry out her demands.
Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier has now addressed these theories in an interview in Empire magazine, refuting the idea that Valentina Allegra De Fontaine assembles the team to "do bad things." Instead, it seems another factor forces the team together before putting them through their paces, with Schreier comparing the movie to Ronin and Reservoir Dogs. His comments reintroduce a huge question mark over what exactly forces them to unify as they can be seen cooperating in the latest Thunderbolts* trailer. His full quote is as follows:
[indent] "I"ve seen a lot of synopses out there that just say, as though it"s a fact, that it"s a team assembled by Valentina to go do bad things. I understand why that would be the assumption, but that is not the story. It"s exciting to think of movies like Ronin or Reservoir Dogs, where you have a group of people that has no reason to trust each other. Could they even learn to work together? What sort of conflicts would arise?"
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Thunderbolts* Not Yet Rated Marvel's Thunderbolts* is a superhero movie based on the comic team of the same name. The movie acts as a part of the MCU's fifth phase of films. The film sees the likes of Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell, the Red Guardian, and more as an unlikely group of heroes and villains brought together to fight for good.
Director Jake Schreier Release Date May 2, 2025 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Cast Florence Pugh , Sebastian Stan , David Harbour , Wyatt Russell , Olga Kurylenko , Hannah John-Kamen , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Geraldine Viswanathan , Lewis Pullman , Joshua Mikel Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Upcoming MCU Movies