While we might not have got the Fantastic Four castings revealed at this weekend’s D23, we did have the full lineup of the Thunderbolts team confirmed. Unfortunately, although it was revealed that Phase One favorite Sebastian Stan is once again back as the Winter Soldier, fans seemed to be pretty underwhelmed by the supervillain group’s roster, as it was missing a few characters they were convinced would be included.
Case in point, Baron Helmut Zemo himself, as Daniel Bruhl’s master manipulator is a frequent leader of the team in the comics. Interestingly, although the Captain America: Civil War villain wasn’t featured in the Thunderbolts D23 presentation, it looks like Marvel has now subtly announced that Zemo will be part of the lineup after all — in the weirdest way possible.
As Twitter account Marvel Updates pointed out, the URL for the Marvel.com write-up of the Thunderbolts casting story includes Zemo’s name. Interestingly, his name is also mentioned first, as if he is the team’s primary member.
Obviously, the fact that Zemo’s name crept into this link doesn’t necessarily mean he is secretly in the movie, as this could easily have been the result of a some kind of error. However, it only adds fuel to the flames that the Sokovian nobleman will be involved in Thunderbolts in certain capacity. Especially as the film seems to be chiefly drawing from the Captain America and Black Widow side of the MCU.
All in all, the confirmed roster comprises Winter Soldier, Red Guardian (David Harbour), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), not to mention their benefactor, Contessa Val (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). As directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts is scheduled to storm into cinemas on July 26, 2024.
