Now that we know the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be assembling its own team of antiheroes and villains ahead of Thunderbolts coming to theaters in July 2024, speculation has inevitably turned to the potential members of the titular unit.
The smart money would be on Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine acting as the ringleader, especially following the passing of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross actor William Hurt, while the top contenders who come up on every wish-list include Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, Daniel Brühl’s Zemo, and Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer to name but four.
With Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye reintroducing Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, which is going to pay huge dividends in upcoming shows Echo and Daredevil: Born Again, the door has officially been opened for more Netflix favorites to make their way to the MCU.
That being said, it’s one of the more polarizing figures from the Defenders Saga that’s been dominating the discussion Reddit, with fans wondering if Rachael Taylor’s Trish Walker could come in from the cold and embrace her Hellcat persona.
A lot of viewers didn’t much care for Trish’s character or her arc over the three-season run of Jessica Jones, but the last we saw of her she was being sent to the Raft, the prison which has been part of official MCU canon for a while. It can’t be ruled out that she could make the cut, then, and it would be another added layer with which to tie the Netflix shows back into continuity.