Thunderbolts' After-Credits Scenes: Bridging the Gap to Avengers: Doomsday
The Post-Credit Scenes of 'Thunderbolts'* Reveal the Next Phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Progression
Marvel's "Thunderbolts" has finally landed, and with it, the much-anticipated tradition of deciphering those tantalizing post-credits scenes.
Directed by Jake Schreier, the flick brings together a motley crew of antiheroes from the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe. Led by Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), they reluctantly join forces in an effort to save the world.
The movie delivers a classic Marvel ensemble experience, featuring familiar faces like John Walker and Ghost, along with new characters like Bob and Alexei Shostakov.
Marvel's Losers squad takes center stage
The movie places our protagonists against a diabolical CIA director, portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
In true Marvel fashion, "Thunderbolts" offers two post-credits scenes. The first offers a glimpse of the team's daily lives, now that they are no longer disgraced heroes or mercenaries. Meanwhile, Alexei – better known as Red Guardian – wears a smug grin while stopping a customer in a grocery store's cereal aisle to draw attention to a New Avengers box. Is the world ready for this team, though?
The second scene, a more significant one, teases future developments for our antihero squad and the MCU as a whole.
Fourteen months after the film's main storyline, the Thunderbolts (albeit with an authorized name change to the New Avengers by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine) grapple with branding issues. While the team managed to earn the plaudits of de Fontaine by the movie's end, the new Captain America, Sam Wilson, is far from impressed with their adoption of the Avengers' name.
The upcoming "Captain America: Brave New World" could see a tension unfold between the two teams, eventually culminating in a showdown in "Avengers: Doomsday" (2026), a movie laden with an impressive ensemble cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Simu Liu, Letitia Wright, and Tenoch Huerta. However, their exact roles within this ambitious Avengers assemblage remain unclear.
The scene concludes with the ominous appearance of an extradimensional spaceship labeled "4," adorned with the legendary Fantastic Four logo. Their long-awaited arrival in July's "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" signals the beginning of Phase 6 for the MCU.
The forthcoming Fantastic Four film introduces Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm, respectively. As Marvel's First Family, they gain superpowers during a space mission that will connect their adventures with the larger multiverse narrative.
"First Steps" transports audiences to a retrofuturistic Earth reminiscent of the '60s while the Fantastic Four locks horns with a cosmic menace, the planet-eating Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer. The movie might also explain their introduction to the MCU and why they end up in the Avengers' orbit.
The arrival of the Fantastic Four creates a ripple effect across the MCU, setting the stage for "Avengers: Doomsday," which will mark Robert Downey Jr.'s return as Doctor Doom. The post-credits scene in "Thunderbolts" is a grooming ground for an interconnected multiverse storyline that promises unforeseen alliances, daring team-ups, and colossal struggles against formidable cosmic threats.
Further Reading:
Fantastic First Impressions: The Fantastic Four trailer
Setting the Stage: The Avengers: Doomsday post-credits scene
Shaking Things Up: The Avengers: Doomsday cast ready for action
- The Thunderbolts, now rebranded as the New Avengers, will have to address branding concerns in the movie "Captain America: Brave New World", potentially leading to tension with the existing Avengers team.
- During the post-credits scene of "Thunderbolts", the New Avengers are pictured with a spaceship labeled "4", bearing the Fantastic Four logo, indicating their upcoming arrival in the MCU film, "The Fantastic Four: First Steps".
- In "Thunderbolts", a post-credits scene hints at the Fantastic Four's entrance in the MCU, raising anticipation for the connected multiverse narrative, culminating in the epic showdown in "Avengers: Doomsday" (2026).
- The ensemble cast of "Avengers: Doomsday" includes Wyatt, played by Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, along with several returning stars like Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Simu Liu, and Letitia Wright.
- The post-credits scenes of "Thunderbolts" serve as a breeding ground for unexpected alliances, daring team-ups, and colossal struggles against cosmic threats, setting the stage for an interconnected multiverse storyline in the Marvel Cinema Universe.
