In 2025, Marvel Studios is set to release several highly anticipated movies, following the success of “Deadpool & Wolverine” in 2024. The upcoming films include “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts*,” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” Fans are eagerly awaiting updates, including a positive test screening review from one of the stars and a first look at Pedro Pascal from the set of “The Fantastic Four.” Trailers for “Captain America 4” are also expected to generate excitement for the franchise.
Positive Tests Screenings from 2025 Marvel Studios Movie
Thunderbolts* star David Harbour provided fans with an update on the status of his 2025 Marvel movie after internal test screenings were finished. The film presents a significant risk for Marvel Studios, as it is one of the few team-up franchises outside of the Avengers movies. The Marvels demonstrated how challenging it can be to attract an audience when crossing over several franchises, resulting in it becoming the MCU’s biggest box office bomb ever.
“It is the only MCU film debuting next year without a pre-established franchise preceding it, such as Captain America: Brave New World and Fantastic Four. Additionally, it may be challenging to market a superhero movie led by a group of misfits to general audiences, although it has been successful for films like Guardians of the Galaxy.”
The actor playing Red Guardian has received positive feedback about the upcoming film. In an interview with ComicBook, Harbour explained that he doesn’t look outside for critiques because viewers form quick opinions about movies. He encouraged fans to give movies like Thunderbolts a chance before writing them off:
“Making a movie, you can’t really look outside for critiques because everybody, everybody sees the poster and they have an opinion. You’re like, ‘just watch the two-hour movie and if you still hate it. Great. Love it? Great.’ But, like, you’ve got to give us a chance. I think all the speculation in the world is like my fantasies about dying or what. I mean, it’s like you can fantasize about horrific things or whatever until you actually see the thing.”
He proudly shared his excitement for the new MCU movie, stating that it was “playing well internally” in test screenings and would “really surprise people:”
“I’m very proud of this movie, what we shot. I hear it’s playing well internally and I’m excited for people to see it. I think it’s going to really surprise people. I think people have seen from the trailer, from the shots. I think it’s a pretty cool direction of the MCU’s sort of making now. And I’m excited to be a part of that.”
Although Thunderbolts* had a trailer premiere exclusively at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, fans have not seen any official footage or marketing for the film yet.
Will Thunderbolts* Be a Hit for the MCU?
Thunderbolts* is an important movie for the MCU, as it is set to be the final film of Phase 5, scheduled for release in May 2025. David Harbour appears to be confident about its performance, especially since this will be his second MCU movie after 2021’s Black Widow.
This upcoming movie will be the first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to center around a group of villains or antiheroes. It will also address the aftermath of several past MCU projects, adding a new level of connectivity to the overall franchise storyline.
Combine these elements with Florence Pugh’s burgeoning star power as Yelena Belova, Lewis Pullman’s debut as the formidable Sentry, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ ongoing portrayal as the scheming Val, and there is much to anticipate.
The first exclusive trailer for “Thunderbolts*” gave fans numerous exciting updates, although it will likely be a few weeks or months until anything is revealed publicly. Part of that mystery lies in the title itself, as fans wonder what in the world the asterisk is supposed to mean. However, after “Thunderbolts*” had its release date switched with “Fantastic Four” (moving it up by almost three months), Marvel appears confident in what it will deliver behind this team. “Thunderbolts*” is set to arrive in theaters on May 2, 2025.
