Thunderbolts director says the new Marvel movie is inspired by Toy Story 3: "Can they get out of the trash can together?"

The cast of Thunderbolts
(Image credit: Disney)

Director Jake Schreier says Thunderbolts* is inspired by Toy Story 3 - and that the upcoming Marvel film follows a similar concept.

"I had Toy Story 3 in there. It wasn’t as focused on a genre as much as dynamics amongst characters," Schreier told Empire. "They all have that dynamic of a team that is thrown together. That [furnace] sequence works so well because you’ve come to care about these characters so much. Can they get out of the trash can together?”

The film sees a group of unlikely heroes band together to save the world (a world without the Avengers, mind you) after being assembled by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). The group in question includes Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr aka Ghost, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian, Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov aka Taskmaster, and Lewis Pullman as Bob aka the Sentry. and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova. Additionally, Harrison Ford appears as General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross, with Geraldine Viswanathan as the Contessa's assistant Mel.

Thunderbolts* is the final movie in Marvel Phase 5, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps kicking off Marvel Phase 6.

Thunderbolts* is set to hit theaters on May 5, 2025, delayed from its previous December 20, 2024 release date due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. For more, check out our guide to the story so far in Marvel Phase 5 and a look ahead at what's still to come in Marvel Phase 6.

CATEGORIES
Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.