Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan Announced to Lead Marvel's Thunderbolts Cast of Anti-Heroes

Glenn Garner
·2 min read
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CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, Sebastian Stan, 2014. ph: Zade Rosenthal/©Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection ; (L-R): Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena (Florence Pugh) in Marvel Studios' BLACK WIDOW, in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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Zade Rosenthal/©Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection; Marvel Studios

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a new super team on the scene.

During Disney's D23 Expo on Saturday, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced that Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan will lead the upcoming installment Thunderbolts as their respective anti-heroes Black Widow, aka Yelena Belova and the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes.

The cast is rounded out by David Harbour (as Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine), Wyatt Russell (as U.S. Agent/John Walker), Hannah John-Kamen (as Ghost/Ava Starr) and Olga Kurylenko (Taskmaster/Antonia Dreykov).

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The Thunderbolts are Marvel's answer to DC's Suicide Squad, a team of supervillains contracted by the government.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 10: (L-R) Jake Schreier, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, and Sebastian Stan pose at the IMDb Official Portrait Studio during D23 2022 at Anaheim Convention Center on September 10, 2022 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 10: (L-R) Jake Schreier, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, and Sebastian Stan pose at the IMDb Official Portrait Studio during D23 2022 at Anaheim Convention Center on September 10, 2022 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb)

Corey Nickols/Getty for IMDb

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Stan, 40, Harbour, 47, Russell, 36, Louis-Dreyfus, 61, and John-Kamen, 33, appeared at the D23 Expo to celebrate the news, along with director Jake Schreier. Pugh, 26, who is currently filming Dune: Part Two, made a virtual appearance with a pre-recorded video greeting.

"I am so gutted that I'm not there in person to say hi, but I am unbelievably excited to be joining this cast," she said in the clip. "So please, from me, can you show a lot of love to my cast mates?"

Louis-Dreyfus gave fans a glimpse behind-the-scenes, sharing a selfie from the red carpet with Russell and Stan. "Here we go!" she wrote in the caption, before teasing her 1.5 million followers with a video from backstage.

Harbour also celebrated the news on Instagram with a photo of Red Guardian's Funko POP! bobblehead and a selfie in front of a Thunderbolt carnival ride. "I missed him so much," he wrote in the caption.

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Filming for Thunderbolts is set to begin early next year with a July 26, 2024 premiere date, according to Variety.