Florence Pugh Calls Thunderbolts\* An ‘A24-Feeling Assassin Movie With Marvel Superheroes’

When Jake Schreier got the job of directing Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, it came with an all-important directive from the top: “‘Make it something different’,” he tells Empire. Because, while on the surface it’s a team-up of several existing MCU characters from across various previous projects, this isn’t just an Avengers redux. The Thunderbolts are barely powered, barely heroic, and barely a team – a jumble of misfits and murderers, all looking for some kind of belonging. In the hands of a director previously behind indie favourites like Robot & Frank and Netflix hit Beef, the result is something with a tone distinct from any previous Marvel movie.

“It ended up becoming this quite badass indie, A24-feeling assassin movie with Marvel superheroes,” Florence Pugh laughs to Empire, reprising her role as Widow-trained assassin Yelena Belova, previously seen in Black Widow and Hawkeye. Schreier has form in that arena, given Beef was an actual A24 production. “There’s a certain amount of that Beef tone in it, that does feel different,” he notes. “There’s an emotional darkness that we brought to this that is resonant, but doesn’t come at the expense of comedy.”

That indie sensibility doesn’t just emerge since the Thunderbolts members are largely power-free (Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, who can phase through objects, comes closest to having a special ability). On a character level, they’re all a little bit lost, looking for belonging, purpose, and – perhaps – redemption. Particularly Lewis Pullman’s mysterious ‘Bob’, the unknown quantity among the team. “Bob is going through what all of them are probably, secretly, going through,” Pugh teases. “Yelena sees parts of herself in him. She’s always been someone that wants to look after people. She has a sweet spot for him, and essentially likes looking after him because he’s useless. He’s absolutely useless.” The Thunderbolts might not be the team anyone expected – but it might just be what each of them needs.

Pick up the Thunderbolts* issue on newsstands from Thursday 13 March. Or, pre-order a copy online here. Thunderbolts* comes to UK cinemas on 1 May.