Whether you call them Thunderbolts or New Avengers, you can also call it home for dinner because one of the best, if not the best, Marvel movies of the year is headed to Disney+ later this month.
Earlier today, Marvel announced Thunderbolts will make its way to the streaming platform on August 27. As noted in Marvel’s press release hyping its streaming debut, its pilgrimage to the premiere destination for all things MCU comes after the film built up a surprising amount of momentum in its theatrical release, putting to rest all talk of superhero fatigue that has plagued the genre. Not only did the film round out with an 88 percent Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, but it also restored the feeling that Marvel was finally back in its groove in the messy wake of Captain America: Brave New World‘s release in February. A feat all the more daunting to clear, given the more grounded superhero film had the pressure of releasing before The Fantastic Four: First Steps and DC Studios’ Superman, movies billed to be even bigger blockbusters that’d steal the limelight this summer.
The film, which assembles characters from fringe Marvel projects like Black Widow, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and The Falcon and Winter Soldier, sees Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) go from being collateral damage to humanity’s last line of defense with the arrival of Sentry/the Void, AKA Bob (Lewis Pullman). In contrast to other films, which seem unable to tell a story without veering into catastrophic skybeams, Thunderbolts’ tale looks inward with an interpersonal story about its heroes’ struggle with their own mental health and imposter syndrome as they dare to punch above their weight and be genuine heroes.
In io9’s review, we said the Jake Schreier-directed film is Marvel back to doing what it does best, writing, “When Marvel brings characters from multiple projects together on the big screen, it has an earned reputation and expectation to deliver massive spectacle. Thunderbolts isn’t that. It’s a film that has action, excitement, and one of the best end credit scenes in recent years, all while never losing its smaller, indie soul. The characters, like the movie, are underdogs. But one that, a few tiny blips aside, ends up a winner.”
Thunderbolts releases on Disney+ on August 27.