MCU: Will Thunderbolts be delayed? New report teases major rewrites due to Black Widow

MCU's Phase 5 has begun and multiple movies and TV shows are currently in production. But after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and She-Hulk's average reception, the MCU is reportedly taking countermeasures to ensure quality releases in the future.

Marvel has begun to downsize and focus on fewer projects to be released this year. Disney is returning to the formula of quality over quantity, which has led to delays in the release of several projects including Loki season 2 and Ironheart. According to the new scoop by industry scooper Jeff Sneider, Thunderbolts might also follow the same pattern.

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MCU’s Thunderbolts could be delayed due to rewrites

Thunderbolts line-up (Image via Marvel)

Several MCU projects are currently in production, including Captain America: New World Order, Daredevil: Born Again, Agatha Coven of Chaos, and Wonder Man. Set to initially release on July 26, 2024, Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts was supposed to join these projects very soon. However, the film may have found itself in a bit of a pickle.

Initially, it was revealed that Thunderbolts will act as a sequel to Black Widow as it will include the likes of Yelena Belova, Taskmaster, and Red Guardian. However, during his appearance on The Hot Mic podcast with John Rocha on March 31, industry scooper Jeff Sneider revealed that the film is going through rewrites. This is because it felt more like Black Widow 2 than an actual team-up film.

Red Guardian and Yelena Belova (Image via Marvel)

Sneider said:

"I heard that they scrapped the other guys draft. One of the problems with that 'Thunderbolts' draft was that it had a similar problem to what 'Suicide Squad' had, the David Ayer one, in that it was too focused on the 'Black Widow' characters who are going to be in 'Thunderbolts' and it wasn't an equal enough [balance] for the team. It just very much emphasized the characters we already knew."

Although the news has not been confirmed by official sources, information by Sneider has turned out to be right in the past. Hence, it is possible that Thunderbolts may be adding more story elements for other characters including Bucky Barnes, John Walker, Ava Starr, and Val.

Since its reported villain is The Sentry instead of someone like Melina Vostokoff, Marvel would be right to add more backstory to characters like him. Hence, a delay in release is possible if the rewrite takes too long. However, it is important to note that there have been several instances where rewrites have taken place while the film is being shot. Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man: No Way Home are some big examples of the same.

So, it may be possible that Thunderbolts will not be delayed after all, and an official announcement is now awaited.

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The rumored plot of MCU’s Thunderbolts

According to rumors from the Marvel Updates Twitter account, CIA Director Val and President Thaddeus Ross will assemble the Thunderbolts to send them on a mission to Tiamut Island. Their goal will be to extract the newly found metal Adamantium from the dead Celestial.

Val will also add The Sentry, played by Steven Yeun, who is another product of the Super Soldier experiment, to this squad. But the catch is that his evil split personality, The Void, will turn him against the Thunderbolts team. He will become the physical antagonist of the movie, while Val will remain the main villain.

As mentioned above, MCU's Thunderbolts is currently scheduled to arrive on July 26, 2024, but could be pushed if significant rewrites are needed.