‘Thunderbolts*’ Stars Dish on Their MCU Team-Up and ‘Brat Summer’ (Exclusive)

2025 is the summer of Thunderbolts*, but 2024 is Brat summer. 

Chatting with ET’s Ash Crossan on Saturday from San Diego Comic-Con, the cast of Marvel’s Thunderbolts* opened up about everything from how Charli XCX’s hit Brat album is impacting their summer and their characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the highly-anticipated film, which releases in theaters next May. 

The Thunderbolts* team includes Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov (Red Guardian), Wyatt Russell as John Walker (U.S Agent), Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Lewis Pullman as Bob (heavily believed to be the character Sentry), Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr (Ghost) and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov (Taskmaster). Also returning from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow is Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. 

Stan — one of the longest veterans in the MCU — chatted with ET and compared the group’s new film to Friends, but with a more violent and chaotic twist (more than the typical shenanigans that Ross, Joey, Rachel, Monica, Chandler and Phoebe get up to). 

“I think they’re definitely like, you know, misfits, losers and have a certain self-hatred,” added Harbour of the team-up. “They trip over their own feet and that’s sort of what makes them extraordinary and makes them able to do things that other teams can’t do.”

In the trailer only shown inside Hall H during Comic-Con, Louis-Dreyfus’ character declares that maturing is realizing “there are bad guys and then there are worse guys,” implying that her team of rag-tag super-abled agents are out to wreak havoc as they take on missions. The film takes inspiration from the eponymous comic series about the team of anti-heroes put together by Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, a role originated by William Hurt but recast as Harrison Ford after Hurt’s death in March 2022.

While the trailer was not released online, ET was in the audience and can confirm that the movie follows each character at a crossroads and feeling aimless in their life. Led by their search for purpose, each character is lured into coming together (after an epic-looking battle) to work towards a common goal. It’s no surprise to fans that Louis-Dreyfus’ character is behind the orchestration as she previously popped up in scenes with Russell and Pugh’s characters in various Marvel films and TV shows and teased that she (like Nick Fury many moons ago) is assembling a team. 

So, what is it like having Louis-Dreyfus as a boss? The actors have some thoughts. 

“Horrible…ly fashionably,” joked Pugh, who first appeared in 2020’s Black Widow. 

Drive Away Dolls star Geraldine Viswanathan plays Mel, the assistant of Valentina, who had nothing but nice — and potentially fake — things to say about her on-screen boss and off-screen friend. 

“Valentina is really chill and just totally regular and cool and beautiful,” she said, stifling a laugh as history has shown otherwise on the “chill” and “cool” fronts. She may have been influenced by Louis-Dreyfus standing right next to her and listening intently as to what her minion would have to say. 

As for how the stars of the movie are feeling about finally getting to be back in the MCU — many of the actors appeared in only one project as the main villain — they all tell ET that they could not be more ready for not only the project to come out, but for the fans to see how it all comes together after. 

“I’ve been so excited to come back,” said John-Kamen, who first appeared as her character in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Ghost has the ability to become invisible and intangible, making it incredibly difficult for her opponent to fight. She calls it “such a journey” from where Ghost was last seen to how she winds up in Thunderbolts*.

“I just lucked out in a team that has come back with and the people I worked with and the actors and the characters, it’s just incredible,” John-Kamen continued. “I couldn’t have asked for a better team to come into the MCU again.”

“Every single cast member in this movie makes this story come alive and the reason why we’re all giggling and laughing with each other is because we just loved working with each other,” Pugh shared. “There’s just so much love between all of us.”

She added, “It truly was one of those weird, special ones, and we’re just so gassed to see each other again.”

It’s also worth noting that during the panel on Saturday, the film’s director, Jake Schreier, alluded to the reasoning behind the asterisk in the film’s title. He shared that while the name is most commonly associated with Thaddeus Ross, that might not be the case for this project.

Fans will just have to wait and see — and that includes Pugh… or so she says. 

“Now we’re off to the races, even though we don’t know what the asterisk means,” she said, adding, “Don’t point the mic at me, I don’t know.”

Meanwhile, Louis-Dreyfus — whose hit 2010s HBO series Veep is experiencing a major surge on streaming at the moment thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ announced presidential run — also commented on having a Brat summer thanks to Thunderbolts* and Veep being the talk of the town. 

“I’m Brat and I think Valentina is Brat, baby doll,” the legendary comedic actress said as her co-star, Pullman, chimed in, “I was just learning about Brat and we were coming up with our own phrase.”

The actress responded, “Get with it, man.”

Thunderbolts* releases in theaters on May 2, 2025. For more headlines from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, check out the links below. 

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