There are several pastMCUmovies and TV shows you might want to rewatch beforeThunderboltshits theaters on August 15, 2025, as part of Phase 5. In recent months, anticipation has been rising forThunderbolts, the first crossover event of the Multiverse Saga that will bring together a new team of superpowered individuals who are brought together in the Avengers' absence. TheThunderbolts have a rich Marvel Comics history, so their debut in the MCU is exciting, even though the team will be very different from its comic counterparts.
As the MCU’s first major crossover event since 2019’sAvengers: Endgame,Thunderboltsis set to feature several returning charactersfrom Marvel’s history. This means thatthere are a number of past movies and TV shows that need to be watched to better understand the narrative and character progression inThunderbolts. Jake Schreier’s directorial debut in the MCU will pay homage to some of the franchise’s most thrilling and intense stories and characters, dating all the way back to Phase 1, which means you might want to do some homework beforeThunderbolts*releases on May 2.
12Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Bucky Barnes Debuted In The MCU In Captain America: The First Avenger
Sebastian Stan was confirmed to be reprising the role of James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes inThunderbolts*during the initial cast announcement in 2022, so it would be worth looking back atBucky Barnes' entire MCU history. Bucky has been through some monumental changes since his debut in 2011’sCaptain America: The First Avenger. In the historical Phase 1 movie,Bucky debuted as Steve Rogers' childhood best friend and a member of the Howling Commandos alongside Captain America during World War II, which makes him one of the MCU’s oldest characters.
2011
2014
2015
2016
2018
2019
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
2021
2025
2026
TBD
Bucky Barnes would never have become the Winter Soldier had it not been for the events ofCaptain America: The First Avenger, as he fell from a train and was captured by HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola in the Phase 1 movie.Zola’s experiments transformed Bucky into a super-soldier, which allowed him to survive to the present day, kick-starting his hero-to-villain-to-hero journeythat will culminate in him becoming thede facto leader of the Thunderbolts. Bucky’s experience alongside Captain America inThe First Avengerwill make him the perfect Thunderbolts leader in 2025.
11Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Reintroduced Bucky Barnes As A Formidable Villain
WhileCaptain America: The First Avengerintroduced Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes to the MCU, it was 2014’sCaptain America: The Winter Soldierthat revealed him to have beentransformed into the villainous Winter Soldier. This elite HYDRA operative was enhanced with a super-soldier serum and brainwashed by the nefarious organization to become the world’s most infamous assassin.Bucky targeted Steve Rogers and his friends inThe Winter Soldier, but coming face-to-face with his childhood friend started to break HYDRA’s spell over him.
Marvel Studios' best espionage thriller did a fantastic job at developing Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier, but also saw him start to recover his own personality. He saved Steve Rogers at the end of the movie, and was seen learning about his own life at the Captain America exhibit in the Smithsonian, which started him on his journey to rediscovering Bucky Barnes and eventually to becoming a Thunderbolt.Captain America: The Winter Soldierwas the first MCU project that made Bucky Barnes something of a main character, so it’s essential viewing before he returns inThunderbolts*.
10Captain America: Civil War (2016)
The Winter Soldier’s Redemption Arc Started In Captain America: Civil War
A brief cameo at the end of 2015’sAnt-Manteased Bucky Barnes' major return in 2016’sCaptain America: Civil War.Bucky became a pawn of Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo inCivil War, as he was framed for the bombing of the United Nations and the murder of King T’Chaka, which allowed Zemo to use Bucky’s HYDRA conditioning to aim him at his Avenger friends.Captain America: Civil Warisn’t only important to watch beforeThunderbolts*because of Bucky Barnes' prominence, however, but this crossover movie also explains the Avengers' current absence.
Zemo used Steve Rogers' allegiance to Bucky Barnes inCaptain America: Civil Warto drive a wedge between the Avengers, as it was revealed that Bucky had killed Tony Stark’s parents while operating as the Winter Soldier. This ultimately meant theAvengers had disbanded by the time ofInfinity War, and while they briefly reformed inEndgame, the impact ofCivil Warmeans the Avengers still aren’t operating now. This creates the void that the Thunderbolts will fill in the MCU’s Phase 5, soCivil Warprovides some important backstory for both Bucky Barnes' evolution and the Thunderbolts' formation.
9Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Avengers Tower Was Sold To Valentina In Spider-Man: Homecoming
At first glance, the connection between 2017’sSpider-Man: HomecomingandThunderboltsmay not be clear, but the latter will finally be answering one of the MCU’s biggest mysteries that began in the former. DuringHomecoming, Michael Keaton’s Vulture targeted a plane carrying Avengers cargo out of Avengers Tower to the team’s new facility in Upstate New York, as Tony Stark sold the team’s Manhattan base of operations.It took eight years afterHomecomingfor Marvel Studios to answer who bought Avengers Tower, asThunderbolts‘trailers have confirmed its new owner to be Valentina.
While Valentina has been revealed to have bought Avengers Tower, other popular theories suggested it could have been Wilson Fisk, Kang variant Mister Gryphon or even the Fantastic Four.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine might have only debuted in the MCU in 2021’sThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but it seems she has been influencing events behind the scenes for much longer.Valentina is a woman of incredible power and influence in the MCU, and her takeover of the former Avengers Tower is just one example of this. She has transformed thelandmark into the MCU’s Watchtower, the Sentry’s base of operations in Marvel Comics, so whileHomecomingmight not be essential viewing, it provides important backstory for the MCU’s newest villain.
8Black Panther (2018)
Bucky Barnes Recovered In Wakanda At The End Of Black Panther
Similarly toSpider-Man: Homecoming, 2018’sBlack Pantherdoesn’t have much impact on the upcoming storyline ofThunderbolts*. However, since Bucky Barnes will have a prominent role in the Phase 5 crossover, it’s important to note that he makes a brief cameo appearance in thepost-credits scene of 2018’sBlack Panther.This cameo followed on from the end ofCaptain America: Civil War, in which Bucky Barnes was given refuge in Wakanda, thoughBlack Panthersaw him as a recovered man, free from HYDRA’s conditioning that had turned him into the Winter Soldier.
Bucky Barnes' cameo inBlack Pantherwas explained more in a flashback inThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as it was Dora Milaje member Ayo who helped him break free of HYDRA’s brainwashing.Black Panther’spost-credits scene marked the first mention of Bucky Barnes assuming the White Wolf moniker. He hasn’t quite embraced this role yet, but this could all change inThunderbolts*, especially if he wants to rid himself of his Winter Soldier legacy completely.Bucky Barnes becoming the White Wolfwould be a fantastic way to finally seek full redemption.
7Ant-Man & The Wasp (2018)
Ghost Debuted In The MCU In Ant-Man & The Wasp
Bucky Barnes is not the only returning MCU antagonist set to feature as amember of the Thunderbolts team, but he will be joined by at least five other characters. It wasn’t until 2018’sAnt-Man and the Waspthat the next one debuted in the MCU, however, asthe sequel to Peyton Reed’s original 2015 movie introduced Hannah John-Kamen to the MCU as Ava Starr, a.k.a. Ghost. After being blasted with quantum energy as a young girl, Ava Starr’s molecules became dislodged, and she hoped to steal quantum power from Janet van Dyne to stabilize herself.
Ghost’s return inThunderbolts*has spurred speculation that Laurence Fishburne could join her as Bill Foster. Foster looked after Ava Starr for years after finding her as a child, so it would be great to see their father-daughter relationship be developed further.
This would have killed Janet, but Ava Starr thought this to be a necessary sacrifice to save herself. However,she saw the error of her ways when Janet returned from the Quantum Realm safely and used her new (and now ignored) gifts to stabilize Ava Starr’s phasing. Luckily, this kept her quantum powers intact, but just enabled her to control them, which means that John-Kamen can return asGhost inThunderbolts*. She was previously a villain out of self-interest, but it will be great to see her step into a more heroic role in the MCU’s Phase 5.
6Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The Impact Of Natasha Romanoff’s Endgame Death Will Be Felt In Thunderbolts*
Of course,Avengers: Infinity Warneeds to be watched to understandAvengers: Endgame, but it’s the 2019 movie that is essential viewing ahead ofThunderbolts*.Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff might not be involved on-camera inThunderbolts*, but the legacy her character leaves behind will play a central rolein the development of several ofThunderbolts*‘characters.Black Widow’s death inAvengers: Endgamewill inform the actions of Yelena Belova, Alexei Shostakov’s Red Guardian and Antonia Dreykov’s Taskmaster inThunderbolts*, so it will be important to remind yourself of this emotional moment.
Scarlet Johansson is returning to Marvel as an executive producer inThunderbolts*.
Natasha Romanoff sacrificed herself on Vormir so that Clint Barton could take the Soul Stone back to the Avengers, allowing them to reverse the devastation caused by Thanos five years earlier.Yelena Belova’s reaction to her surrogate sister’s death has already been explored inBlack WidowandHawkeye, but we haven’t seen Red Guardian’s reaction as Romanoff’s father figure, nor Dreykov’s reaction as the woman that Romanoff saved. Black Widow’s death will surely be a huge talking point inThunderbolts*, cementing it as one of the most important events in the MCU’s entire timeline.
5The Falcon & The Winter Soldier (2021)
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier Introduced Valentina & US Agent To The MCU
In the wake ofAvengers: Endgame,Marvel Studios started to actively plant the seeds forThunderbolts*, and this really kicked off in 2021’sThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierseries on Disney+. Not only did this advance the narrative for Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, explaining more of his redemption arc and turning him into something of a bona fide hero, butThe Falcon and the Winter Soldieralso debutedWyatt Russell as John Walker, who will be another prominent Thunderbolts member. Walker was at first the new Captain America, but later evolved into the US Agent.
John Walker’s rebranding as the US Agentwas at the behest of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who also made her MCU debut inThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It’s unclear what role exactly Valentina will have in bringing the Thunderbolts together, but her creation of the US Agent could perhaps hint at her creation and rebranding of other notable characters, perhaps even Lewis Pullman’s Sentry.The Falcon and the Winter Soldierlay some key foundations forThunderbolts*, so viewers would benefit from reminding themselves about the series’ eventsbefore May 2.
4Black Widow (2021)
Yelena Belova Debuted As Natasha Romanoff’s Replacement In Black Widow
2021’sBlack Widowintroduced Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Olga Kurylenko to the MCU as Yelena Belova, Alexei Shostakov and Antonia Dreykov, respectively, all of whom will return inThunderbolts*.Belova was Natasha Romanoff’s sister figure as children in Ohio, when both were being raised by Rachel Weisz’s Melina Vostokoff and Alexei, all spies working for the Red Room. Although not related by blood, these individuals were Natasha Romanoff’s family, and the Avenger’s legacy will continue through them in 2025’sThunderbolts*.
The reunion between Romanoff, Belova, Shostakov and Vostokoff inBlack Widowwas entertaining and, at times, hilarious. This will likely be repeated with Yelena and the Red Guardian meeting again inThunderbolts*, whilethere has also been speculation that Rachel Weisz could reprise herBlack Widowrole.Olga Kurylenko’s appearance as Taskmaster inThunderbolts*has been the subject of doubt, however, as Antonia Dreykov hasn’t featured in much of the movie’s promotional material. Nevertheless,Black Widowis one of the most important projects viewers should catch up on beforeThunderbolts*.
3Hawkeye (2021)
Yelena Belova Learned The Truth About Her Sister’s Death In Hawkeye
Black Widowended with a post-credits scene that saw Yelena Belova head to her sister’s grave where she was interrupted by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.This scene seemed to tease Yelena already being under the employ of Valentina, as the latter suggested that Clint Barton had killed Natasha Romanoff, and sent Yelena to seek revenge for her sister’s death. This came to a head inHawkeyeepisode 4, “Partners, Am I Right?“and the series finale, “So This Is Christmas?” Clint Barton revealed the truth to Yelena inHawkeye, that Natasha Romanoff sacrificed herself.
Yelena Belova becomes the White Widow in Marvel Comics, a moniker some have theorized she could adopt inThunderbolts*.
Beyond this,Hawkeyealso revealed thatYelena Belova was snapped away by Thanosduring her quest to free other Black Widow assassins from General Dreykov’s mind control. Hawkeye revealing the truth about Natasha Romanoff’s death might have caused Yelena to doubt Valentina, as she targeted her at Clint Barton to begin with. This could prove important toThunderbolts*, whileYelena’s feelings of loss duringThunderbolts*‘trailers may have been caused by her severing ties with Valentina, learning the truth of Romanoff’s death and becoming friends with Kate Bishop.
