When Thunderbolts opens in theaters in 2025, a new type of superteam—one that might not be as rigidly defined as the earlier ones—will enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A team composed primarily of reformed supervillains might open the door to an entirely new MCU storyline. Although the movie will not be in theaters for a while, we already know a good deal about who is expected to appear.
Laurence Fishburne and Rachel Weisz are expected to play Bill Foster and Melina Vostokoff in the upcoming film, respectively. In case you missed it, Fishburne starred in Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp as the bright scientist Dr. Bill Foster, better known by his nickname Goliath. Meanwhile, Melina, the supervillain who made her live-action debut in the MCU film Black Widow, has undergone the Red Room training just like Yelena and Natasha.
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Thunderbolts: Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Weisz Reportedly Reprise Their Roles as Bill Foster & Melina Vostokoff
Let us begin with perhaps the most exciting detail from the production: Marvel’s Thunderbolts, a team-up featuring their most formidable villains from recent memory. According to The Trail Blazer, the biggest scoop on this listing is that two famous mentor figures from the Marvel Cinematic Universe are reportedly joining the cast of the upcoming film: Laurence Fishburne (Ant-Man and the Wasp) and Rachel Weisz (Black Widow).
Fishburne is expected to return to his roles as scientist Bill Foster and the surrogate father of Hannah John-Kamen’s character, Ghost, the phasing thief. Invented by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, Ghost is a brilliant hacker and inventor who can turn invisible and intangible by donning a battle suit.
In the 2018 film Ant-Man and the Wasp, John-Kamen played a female Ghost named Ava Starr. And as we learned from Variety, she will return to reprise the role in Thunderbolts.
Thus, we might get to witness some sweet father-daughter bonding between Foster and Ghost as a backdrop for the big, high-stakes Marvel action, even though the creatives have hinted it will be different from Marvel’s other features.
Melina Vostakov, Florence Pugh’s evil mother-figure spy, is also expected to make a comeback in the 2025 flick. Similar to Natasha and Yelena, Vostokoff is a character who has completed the Red Room training. She is one of the older characters in the comics who gets annoyed at Natasha’s easy completion of assignments assigned by her teachers.
Well, it will be interesting to see what happens to Foster and Ghost’s relationship instead of reiterating what has already been done. Since this is a movie about anti-heroes and villains, the characters ought to be evil.
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Laurence Fishburne’s Bill Foster and Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost are Inseparable
Laurence Fishburne’s Bill Foster and Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost/Ava Starr debuted in the MCU in Antman and the Wasp. Their relationship was initially kept a secret until the nefarious Ghost was unmasked. Foster was a former hero who turned bad and developed a personal vendetta against the former Antman, Hank Pym. He took an orphaned Ava under his care, becoming her guardian and mentor. He vowed to protect Ava until his last breath, and he kept his word.
After Ghost is cured using Janet Van Dyne’s Quantum powers, the two escape together, with a promise to return in the future. Thunderbolts was originally scheduled for release on July 26, 2024, but the release was postponed due to the writers’ and actors’ strike (via Collider).
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With Thunderbolts seemingly on the horizon, Ghost is scheduled to make a comeback on the eponymous anti-hero team. And we can be sure she won’t be alone. Bill Foster is sure to appear in some way as a father figure as they navigate through the MCU’s Phase 5.
The current release date for Thunderbolts is July 25, 2025.
