Phase 5 of the MCU starts Friday with “Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania.” But five more movies come after “Quantumania” (and seven Disney+ shows, for now), with “Thunderbolts” being one of the most hotly anticipated. Jake Schreier‘s film sees a whole bunch of Marvel characters connected to Captain America, like Sebastian Stan‘s Bucky Barnes and Florence Pugh‘s Yelena Boleva, team up under the tutelage of Harrison Ford‘s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross.
Also part of the team? David Harbour‘s Red Guardian, who made his MCU debut in 2020’s “Black Widow.” In an upcoming interview with The Playlist, Harbour spoke a little about what he anticipates for “Thunderbolts,” as well as who he can’t wait to see Red Guardian brush shoulders with. “It’s so interesting to think about where [Red Guardian] ends up at the end of “Black Widow” after his story is complete and what happens to him after he’s out of prison,” said Harbour. “Where does he go? To reconnect with Florence [Pugh] is going to be great as well. And also, I would like to see, because he is an idiot and he is an egomaniac – all that stuff, but he does have this fire in him, and I think he could rise to certain occasions if given the chance.”
But at the top of Harbour’s wishlist for Red Guardian? To see him fight more. “I’d like to see him be a little bit more of a badass as well,” Harbour continued. “I’d like to see those fighting skills, which we see a little bit with Taskmaster, but, as messed up as he is, he does have the super serum, and he knows this Russian Sambo technique, and I think we could see a lot more color in that department in terms of his range as a fighter. And I’d like to see where he can go now that he’s out of prison and he’s got more hope for his life, like who he might become. There’s a lot of potential and a lot of opportunity.”
As for who Harbour wants to see his character interact with, Wyatt Russell‘s US Agent. “In terms of the new guys, I will say that I really love what Wyatt [Russell] did in [“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”]. And I think, just the fact of a real dark Captain America, like, what that means in terms of his relationship with Red Guardian and what that spark will be like – I think Wyatt’s terrific. I think that character is terrific – this dark, patriotic character. You know, Red Guardian is just a foil to Captain America. He’s obsessed with Captain America. And this guy, although [Anthony] Mackie is the real Captain America, [Wyatt] is a version of that patriotic thing that’s darker. And so, I think, as Red Guardian, I’m very interested to see where that leads.”
Lots of other actors join Harbour, Mackie, and Russell as part of the “Thunderbolts” ensemble. Along with the already mentioned Stan, Pugh, and Ford, the upcoming film also stars Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster. Also on board: “The Bear” breakout star Ayo Edebiri. Production on “Thunderbolts” begins this summer, with Marvel Studios eying a July 26, 2024 theatrical release.
Harbour brought an uproarious glee to Red Guardian in “Black Widow.” But how will the larger-than-life Russian super-soldier handle working with a new team with a couple of ex-adversaries (and his surrogate daughter)? More news on “Thunderbolts” as the movie heads closer to production.