Marvel Studios’ 2021 feature Black Widow worked as a prequel for Scarlett Johansson’s beloved Avengers character (arriving on the MCU timeline after Natasha died in Avengers: Endgame), but also introduced a number of new characters who are going to be important moving forward. This includes Natasha’s sister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), who basically stole the movie with her funny lines. But Yelena will be joined on screen in Thunderbolts by her MCU father figure Alexi, aka Red Guardian, played by the wonderful David Harbour.
Harbour once talked to us about how very excited he was to try on his Red Guardian superhero costume for the first time in Black Widow. And given the fact that he was a fan-favorite from the movie, you might assume that Harbour is excited to step back into the costume for the super-powered Thunderbolts, due in theaters in 2024 (if release dates hold). When we spoke with Harbour on behalf of his upcoming racing drama Gran Turismo – in an interview that took place before SAG-AFTRA went on strike – Harbour talked about alterations to the suit, and why he hasn’t slipped it on yet. And surprise… the strike was involved. Said Harbour:
You know, I’m a little more svelte than I was when I shot the first movie, so he’s taking it in a little bit. But we’ll see, man. We gotta end this dumb writers’ strike. Not that… the writers aren’t dumb, it’s – the idea that we can’t come to a deal is very frustrating. Once we end this strike, we can maybe talk about getting in the room and shooting some stuff again. But until then, the suit is hanging in the closet.
And that’s where it likely will stay for some time, because as the clock keeps ticking on the strike, the chances of Thunderbolts getting delayed off of its December 20, 2024 release date. Though experts will tell you that those dates usually are just placeholders that hardly are set in stone.
The thing about Thunderbolts is that, because it’s important to enjoy the MCU movies and shows in chronological order, it needs to follow other Marvel studios that are set to arrive before it, so that the actions assumed to be in it make sense. The one that stands out the most to me is Captain America: Brave New World, because that movie will introduce Harrison Ford as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross… who SHOULD start off the Thunderbolts team, even though I think that responsibility is going to fall to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I don’t think we’re expecting to see any other the other members of the Thunderbolts team – from Bucky (Sebastian Stan) to Yelena (Pugh) – in any of the Disney+ shows. So we are just on hold.
If you need a David Harbour fix, grab tickets for Gran Turismo, which is a lot of fun, and one of the better video game movie adaptations I’ve seen.
