Florence Pugh recently described the tone of Thunderbolts* by comparing it to a certain popular movie studio – which will likely excite some, confuse others, and make others even more skeptical. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had an interesting start to 2025, with the mixed reaction to Captain America: Brave New World balanced out by the overwhelmingly positive response to the first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again, which premiered this week. Thunderbolts* is the next installment in the MCU and will kick off the summer movie season on the first weekend of May, the same weekend that Marvel previously released Iron Man, Thor, The Avengers, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and both Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Vol. 3.
While speaking with Empire Magazine, star Florence Pugh compared Thunderbolts* – a movie that collects various assassin characters from across the MCU into a team – to a movie released by A24. That’s likely due to director Jake Schreier, who previously directed six episodes of the Emmy Award-winning Netflix series Beef, which A24 produced. Schreier even noted how the film is similar in tone to Beef. The duo told Empire:
Pugh: “It ended up becoming this quite badass indie, A24-feeling assassin movie with Marvel superheroes.”
Schrier: “There’s a certain amount of that Beef tone in it that does feel different. There’s an emotional darkness that we brought to this that is resonant, but doesn’t come at the expense of comedy.”
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Pugh plays Yelena Belova, the adopted younger sister of Natasha Romanoff and the MCU’s newest Black Widow. Pugh previously played the character in Black Widow and the Disney+ series Hawkeye. The trailers for Thunderbolts* have highlighted what will separate this team from the Avengers: the Thunderbolts crew is made up of morally compromised heroes and villains that society, and even some MCU fans, look down upon. Notably, the marketing for Thunderbolts* doesn’t scream A24 as much as it does 1990s action blockbusters, complete with ’90s-era needle drops from artists like The Pixies and Toadies.
What Does ‘A24 Film’ Even Mean?
What Pugh means by describing Thunderbolts* as an A24 film is a little nebulous. A24 isn’t a type of movie but a distributor, which both finances and purchases different types of films. A24 has a vast library of titles, and movies like Hereditary, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Iron Claw, and Moonlight are vastly different. However, A24 has also developed a particular reputation among general audiences, particularly with its trailers. General audiences associate A24 films with small-scale character-centric stories, a moody atmosphere, psychedelic visuals, a bleak tone, and intimate studies. A24 has undoubtedly redefined the horror genre for a new generation, and the studio has played into this perception.
However, A24 also tends to place an emphasis on filmmakers, a sharp contrast to Marvel Studios, which is often perceived as being very controlling of filmmakers’ visions to varying degrees. With Pugh being the star of one of A24’s biggest hits, Midsommar, she is certainly qualified to make such a comparison. While some might roll their eyes at using “A24 film” as a description, it is an easy, shorthand way to get across an idea, the same way “Marvel movie” or “Netflix style” have become descriptors.
Pugh has spoken before about how her decision to star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe angered many fans of her independent film work, so those same people might not love that Pugh is comparing an MCU film to an A24 film. But it’s a harmless description that might signify that this MCU title is very much focused on developing its misfit cast of characters, because it can’t rely on the audience’s built-in appreciation of them the way they could with someone like Captain America or Daredevil.
Source: Empire
Thunderbolts*
Release Date
May 2, 2025
Writers
Lee Sung-jin, Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo
Franchise(s)
Marvel Cinematic Universe
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