Marvel's 'Thunderbolts*' brings a new team of antiheroes to the big screen. Here's what to know about the cast and characters.

Business Insider

01-05-2025

Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Valentina Allegra de Fontaine
In "Thunderbolts*," Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is the director of the CIA, who sets up the trap that brings the team of superheroes together.
Valentina appeared in "Black Widow" and "Falcon and the Winter Soldier," where she recruited John Walker and Yelena Belova. In "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" she spied on the Wakandans. So, it is unclear where her loyalties lie.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, an Emmy-winning actor known for starring in "Seinfeld" and "Veep," plays Valentina.
Florence Pugh plays Yelena Belova
Yelena Belova is the adoptive sister of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), one of the original Avengers. In 2021's "Black Widow," a Soviet spy agency placed the two in a fake family and sent them to America on an undercover mission as children.
After the mission was completed, the family was separated and Yelena and Natasha became Russian superspies known as Black Widows. By the end of the movie, Yelena and her adopted family had shut down the Black Widow program.
In the series "Hawkeye," audiences learned that Yelena was among the many who vanished when Thanos erased half of all living things in the universe in "Avengers: Infinity War." Natasha died in "Avengers: Endgame" before the Avengers could bring Yelena back to life.
Yelena attempted to kill Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) to avenge Natasha, but she eventually forgave him.
In "Thunderbolts*," Yelena tries to find another way to move past her grief and trauma.
Florence Pugh, an Oscar-nominated actor whose previous movies include "Oppenheimer," "Midsommar," and 2019's "Little Women," plays Yelena.
Sebastian Stan plays Bucky Barnes
Bucky Barnes is a childhood friend of Steve Rogers, the first Captain America.
After a near-death experience in "Captain America: The First Avenger," Bucky became the Winter Soldier, a brainwashed super-assassin. Steve saved Bucky and the Wakandans freed him of the brainwashing.
In "Thunderbolts*," audiences learn that Bucky has become a congressman.
Sebastian Stan, who got his first Oscar nomination for playing Donald Trump in the 2024 film "The Apprentice," stars as Bucky.
David Harbour plays the Red Guardian
Alexei Shostakov, also known as the Red Guardian, first appeared in "Black Widow" as a Soviet super-soldier. After he was cast aside by Russian forces, he worked with his adoptive daughters, Yelena and Natasha, to shut down the Black Widow program.
In "Thunderbolts*," the Red Guardian is still trying to prove that he can be a great hero.
Wyatt Russell plays John Walker
John Walker is a former army captain who was appointed the new Captain America in "Falcon and the Winter Soldier."
Walker later took a super soldier serum so he could live up to the Captain America status, but the US government stripped Walker of the Captain America title after he brutally killed a surrendering Flag Smasher in retaliation for his partner's death.
Valentina recruited Walker at the end of the series and gave him the new mantle of US Agent.
Wyatt Russell, the son of actors Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, plays John Walker.
Hannah John-Kamen plays Ghost
Ava Starr, introduced in the 2018 movie "Ant-Man and the Wasp," has the ability to move through solid objects.
After a quantum tunnel exploded, killing her parents and giving her unstable powers, Ava was discovered by SHIELD, a spy organization in the Marvel universe, and turned into an espionage operative known as Ghost. Ghost's powers were killing her until Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Williams) transferred quantum energy to Ghost to stabilize her in the "Ant-Man" sequel.
Hannah John-Kamen, who starred in "Killjoys" and "Ready Player One," plays Ghost.
Olga Kurylenko plays Taskmaster
Antonia Dreykov is the daughter of General Dreykov, an antagonist who appeared in " Black Widow."
In the 2021 film, her father turned her into Taskmaster, a brainwashed assassin who can copy people's fighting techniques. At the end of the movie, Natasha freed Taskmaster from her brainwashing.
However, it appears she is still an assassin in "Thunderbolts*."
Olga Kurylenko, who starred in "Quantum of Solace," plays Taskmaster.
Lewis Pullman plays Bob
Bob is a new character whom Yelena, Ghost, and Walker come across while trying to kill each other.
The character is based on the comic book character Sentry, a man who signed up for a government experiment to recreate Steve Rogers' super soldier serum. As a result, Bob gained various powers, including super strength, speed, and flight.
In the comic books, the experiment also created a dark entity inside Sentry, known as the Void, which wants to take over his body and destroy the world.
Lewis Pullman, known for his Emmy-nominated role in "Lessons in Chemistry" and "Top Gun: Maverick," plays Bob.
Geraldine Viswanathan plays Mel
Mel is another new character in the main cast of "Thunderbolts*" and she is Valentina's assistant.
Fans have theorized that the character could be based on Songbird, who is a member of the comic book version of the Thunderbolts team. Songbird can create solid constructs out of sound and hypnotize people with her voice.
Geraldine Viswanathan, who starred in "Blockers" and "Drive-Away Dolls," plays Mel.