As has become annual tradition, the British Film Institute (BFI) has unveiled its 2025 crop of “Great 8” movies, eight features from the “most exciting first-time and early career filmmakers” that it will showcase to international distributors and festival programmers in the run-up to and during the Marché du Film market taking place during the Cannes Film Festival.
They include a movie directed by actor and creative Ashley Walters (Netflix hit Adolescence, Top Boy, Missing You) with Stephen Graham, a drama thriller starring George MacKay and Rosy McEwen, a drama featuring Rory Kinnear and Maria Bakalova, a thriller set in an isolated deaf community, and a Welsh alternative period drama with Rupert Everett.
“Now in its eighth year, the 2025 Great 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council, with thanks to BBC Film and Film4,” the BFI said. “In preparation for the Marché, unseen footage from all of the titles will be introduced by their filmmakers and screened online exclusively to buyers and festival programmers” from Thursday, May 8.
Briony Hanson, the British Council’s director of film, said that the selection of new movies “shows once again that U.K. film is in rude health with an upcoming slate that we can be proud of. Again, this shows off the range of new U.K. talent, with hard-hitting social commentary sitting alongside broad comedy, with voices representing England, Scotland and Wales, and with a significant selection of stories exploring traditionally under-represented communities.”
Agnieszka Moody, BFI head of international relations, highlighted the “range of unique and original voices from across the U.K.” featured in the selection. “Great 8 gives that invaluable opportunity to help them be discovered by the international film community and by doing so rewards their creativity and accelerates their careers.”
Here is the 2025 crop of Great8 titles…
Animol U.K., drama Director: Ashley Walters Writer: Nick Love Producers: Thomas Hawkins, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Nick Love, Ashley Walters Cast: Tut Nyuot, Vladyslav Baliuk, Stephen Graham, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Sekou Diaby Production: Sky, Film4, BFI, Joi Productions, Rogue State Productions, SLNda Sales: Bankside Films
‘Animol’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Animol tells the story of 15-year-old Troy, who is remanded in custody for a murder he didn’t commit. Thrown into a notorious Young Offenders’ Institution, he tries to keep his head down and stay out of trouble—but survival isn’t easy when everyone wants something from you. Amid the chaos, Troy finds an unexpected ally in Krystiyan, another young inmate struggling to navigate the same volatile world. A powerful and tender coming-of-age drama, Animol explores the shattering of innocence, the grip of tribalism, and the courage it takes to be your true self in the harshest of environments.
More: Ashley Walters is a celebrated and award-winning actor, director, producer, and recording artist, known for his seismic role within Black London culture and the UK entertainment industry. He first rose to prominence as part of the pioneering U.K. Garage collective So Solid Crew, whose No.1 single “21 Seconds” earned them a BRIT Award. His breakthrough acting role came in Bullet Boy (2004), earning him a BIFA for Most Promising Newcomer. Ashley is best known for his portrayal of Dushane in Top Boy, a defining series in British television, with five seasons spanning Channel 4 and Netflix. In 2017, he founded his production company, SLNda, to champion new talent and culturally resonant stories, making his directorial debut with the short film Boys for Sky. Most recently, Ashley directed on Steven Knight’s A Thousand Blows for Disney+/Hulu and starred in Netflix hits Missing You and Adolescence, which broke U.K. viewing records.
Ish U.K., coming of age Director: Imran Perretta Writers: Imran Perretta, Enda Walsh Producers: Dhiraj Mahey, Bennett McGhee Cast: Farhan Hasnat, Yahya Kitana, Avin Shah, Sudha Bhuchar, Joy Crookes, Arman Mohammed, Is’haaq Hasan Haque, Hasnain Shah Production: Produced by Primal Pictures in association with Home Team, Good Chaos. Financiers: BBC Film, BFI. Additional support: Calculus Media, Out of Order Sales: Film Constellation
‘Ish’
Courtesy of Lara Cornell
Synopsis: Ish follows two best friends, Ish and Maram, on the cusp of being teenagers. In a society where racial profiling ensures brown boys are constantly under surveillance, their friendship is ended by a traumatic police stop-and-search. Ish soon discovers that ‘letting go’ can be the hardest part of growing up.
More: Imran Perretta is a writer, director, visual artist and composer from London. Achieving critical acclaim in the world of contemporary art, his sound and moving image work has been performed and shown at galleries and festivals internationally and is included in a number of public and private art collections including the Tate and the Arts Council England. Imran’s most recent film work The Destructors toured major institutions across the U.K. Following the debut of The Destructors, Imran was named a Turner Prize Bursary winner in 2020. His current exhibition, A Riot In Three Acts, is currently on tour and features a new suite of music for string quartet, A Requiem for the Dispossessed, and performed by the Manchester Camerata. In addition to the Turner Prize Bursary, Imran was named a Jarman Award nominee in 2019, and was a recipient of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Artist Award in 2023.
Learningto Breathe Under Water U.K./Ireland/Netherlands, drama Director: Rebekah Fortune Writer: Richard Brabin Cast: Rory Kinnear, Maria Bakalova, Ezra Carlisle Producers: Jack Tarling, Patrick O’Neill Cast: Zubin Varla, Sudha Bhuchar, Sarag Arya, Robert Ryan Production: A Shudder Films and Wildcard production in co-production with KeyFilm & One Wave Films and in association with Eiru Films. Financiers: Screen Ireland, UK Global Screen Fund, Ffilm Cymru Wales, WRAP Fund, Netherlands Film Fund, Dias Feld, Finite Films, Bankside Films and Three Point Capital. Sales: Bankside Films
‘Learning to Breathe Under Water’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Leo is eight, curious, wise and full of imagination. His best friend is a massive shark — half sculpture, half myth — that crashed through the roof of his house one night when his dad, Peter, gave shape to what he couldn’t say out loud. Leo’s world is full of questions: why do grown-ups act so strangely? Where did Mum go five years ago? And will Dad ever come down from the clouds — or at least remember to do the shopping? Peter’s either buried in big, bonkers art projects or barely speaking, so Leo daydreams vividly and shares his secrets with the shark, who might just be listening but can’t speak back. Then Anya bursts into their lives: a spirited au pair with her own questions to shatter the silence and answers more honest than Leo has ever heard before. Her fearless warmth and energy brings back colour to their world and uplifts their lives.
More: Rebekah Fortune is an autistic director based in Tamworth, currently in post on her second feature, Learning to Breathe Under Water, which stars BAFTA-nominated Rory Kinnear and Oscar-nominated Maria Bakalova, produced by Kneecap producers Jack Tarling and Patrick O’Neill. Rebekah’s micro-budget debut feature Just Charlie was released to critical acclaim in 2017 receiving many awards including the Audience Award at Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival Ecrans Junior Award, and was nominated for two BIFAs. Just Charlie secured distribution worldwide. Her portfolio of short films has won numerous Oscar and BAFTA qualifying festivals. She has mentored for BFI Network, sat on the BAFTA short film jury, and is an alumni of Network@LFF, Edinburgh Talent Lab, BIFA springboard, Screen Yorkshire Flex and Breaking Through the Lens, along with being a finalist for the Academy Gold Fellowship. Additionally, Rebekah works extensively with young actors with Disabilities.
Madfabulous Wales/U.K., alternative period drama Director: Celyn Jones Writer: Lisa Baker Producers: Sean Marley, Nadia Jaynes Cast: Callum Scott Howells, Ruby Stokes, Rupert Everett, Paul Rhys, Siobhán McSweeney Production: Mad as Birds, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Creative Wales Sales: Sean Marley sean@madasbirdsfilms.com
‘Madfabulous’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: A riotous, uncompromising celebration of otherness inspired by the unlikely British aristocrat who theatrically bankrupted his estate, lived fast and died young. When the flamboyant Henry Paget arrives in 1890s North Wales from France to claim his aristocratic inheritance, his theatrical flair and defiant eccentricities send shockwaves through the upper-class elite, much to the amusement of the local townspeople. Alongside his spirited cousin Lily and loyal butler Gelert, Henry tries to carve out his own identity as the Fifth Marquess, while contending with the cold ambition of his calculating cousin Neville and the looming threat of the ruthless Lord Penrhyn. Together, Henry and Lily navigate suffocating traditions, scheming relatives, and the long shadow cast by Henry’s estranged father. Madfabulous is inspired by Henry Paget, the fifth Marquis of Anglesey, who smashed society’s notions of class, gender and decorum, squandering a multimillion fortune before his untimely death. They left nothing behind but love… and a good story.
More: Celyn Jones is a critically acclaimed, award-winning actor and BAFTA-nominated writer from Wales, as well as creative director of production company Mad as Birds. The Times praised him as “the powerhouse writer/performer behind the greatest Dylan Thomas biopic yet.” He won a BAFTA Cymru Award in 2019 for his portrayal of a real-life serial killer in Manhunt, but in recent years has focused increasingly on writing and directing. Jones wrote and co-directed The Almond and the Seahorse, in which he also stars opposite Rebel Wilson and Charlotte Gainsbourg; the film premiered at the Zurich and Dinard film festivals, winning the Special Jury Prize. Madfabulous marks his debut as a solo director.
Mission U.K., drama thriller Director/writer: Paul Wright Producers: Kate Byers, Alex Thiele, Linn Waite, Marie-Elena Dyche, Lowri Roberts Cast: George MacKay, Rosy McEwen Production: Early Day Films, 65 Wilding Films, Meraki Films, Rapt, BBC Film, Screen Scotland, Ffilm Cymru Wales Sales: Blue Finch Films
‘Mission’
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Mission is a punk exploration of the psyche which follows alienated Dylan (George MacKay) as he throws off the shackles of his solitary life in an attempt to experience the highs and lows of existence at its most extreme. Estranged from his sister Claire (Rosy McEwen), he embarks on a thrilling journey of self-discovery that proves both inspiring and terrifying.
More: Paul Wright is a critically acclaimed BAFTA-winning Scottish writer/director whose work has played internationally at festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and Locarno. An NFTS graduate, his short films have received international acclaim and awards, including winning the BAFTA for Best Short Film, The Leopard of Tomorrow Award at Locarno, and screened in numerous prestige film festivals worldwide. His feature debut For Those In Peril premiered in the Cannes Critics’ Week, won the BAFTA Scotland Best Film award and the BIFA Douglas Hickox Award for Directorial Debut. Paul was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British writer/director. He has most recently completed Arcadia, a provocative and poetic documentary. The film screened at numerous festivals including BFI London Film Festival, Glasgow Film Festival, and MOMA in New York, before being released theatrically nationwide to critical acclaim.
On the Sea U.K., drama Director/writer: Helen Walsh Producers: David Moores, David A Hughes; Executive Producers: Mike Goodridge, Chris Clark Cast: Barry Ward, Lorne MacFadyen, Liz White, Henry Lawfull, Celyn Jones Production: Red Union Films Sales: David Moores dmoores@redunionfilms.com, Mike Goodridge mike@goodchaos.co.uk
‘On the Sea’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Jack has been married to Maggie for over half his life. He works as a Hand Raker on the mussel beds in North Wales alongside his younger brother, Dyfan, and Dyfan’s three sons. Jack has always assumed that his own boy, Tom, will join the family business on leaving school but Tom’s resistance to follow in his footsteps creates familial tension. Tensions are further inflamed by the arrival of an itinerant deckhand, Daniel, who makes known his feelings for Jack. In this remote, rural community where life revolves around Church and fishery, Jack is faced with an impossible dilemma. On The Sea is a beautiful, sensual and at times, tragic exploration of masculinity, place and desire.
More: Helen Walsh’s debut novel Brass won the Betty Trask Award and was the most widely reviewed book of 2004. Natasha Walters, writing in Vogue, called it, “One of the most striking coming of age stories I have ever read.” Her second novel Once Upon a Time in England won the Somerset Maugham Prize and The Lemon Grove, her most recent, was a critically acclaimed best-seller that she is currently adapting for TV. Helen wrote and directed her debut feature, The Violators, in 2016 and was awarded BAFTA’s breakthrough new director. Her recent Channel 4 show, The Gathering (2024), which she created and wrote was the recipient of three RTS Awards. On The Sea, is her sophomore feature and will be released in 2025.
Retreat U.K., thriller Director/writer: Ted Evans Producers: Michelle Stein, Jennifer Monks, Alex Usborne Cast: Anne Zander, James Boyle, Sophie Stone,Ace Mahbaz, Anna Seymour Production: BFI, BBC Film and Creative UK present a The Fold and 104 Films Production Sales: XYZ Films
‘Retreat’ film still 2
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Raised in an isolated deaf community, cracks begin to appear in Matt’s seemingly idyllic world when the arrival of enigmatic outsider Eva forces him to question the realities of his identity. Is Matt prepared to discover what lies beneath the surface of his supposedly utopian community and the costs demanded to maintain it?
More: Ted Evans is a writer-director is from Hackney, East London and communicates in both spoken English and British Sign Language. In 2012 he co-wrote and directed two films for the Paralympic Opening Ceremony – Look Up and Bird Gherl. Evans received international and critical acclaim for his award-winning shorts, The End and Retreat, the latter of which he has adapted as his debut feature film, with production company The Fold supported by the BFI and BBC Film. He directed a documentary, featuring Rose Ayling-Ellis, Signs for Change, which aired on BBC1 after being showcased at Sheffield Doc Fest (2023) and netted him an Emerging Talent: Factual BAFTA nomination. In 2018 he was selected as part of Creative England’s CE50 and his most recent short film To Know Him was nominated for Best Short Film at BIFA 2018.
THE SON AND THE SEA U.K., drama Director: Stroma Cairns Writers: Imogen West, Stroma Cairns Producers: Imogen West, Kelly Peck Cast: Jonah West, Stanley Brock, Connor Tompkins, Grant Lindsay Production: BBC Film, In The Company Of, Studio Cloy, Moment Film Group, Creativity Media, Creativity Capital Sales: Kelly Peck kelly@studiocloy.com, Imogen West imogen imogen@inthecompanyof.co
‘The Son and the Sea’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Jonah (26), charismatically ADHD, is a man-child who keeps on slipping, whilst his best mate, Lee (26), nimbly climbs every ladder. After hitting yet another bump and under pressure to see his great-aunt, who is lost to dementia, Jonah contrives that he and Lee go visit, hoping it might also offer respite from himself and the mess he’s creating. Though the north-east coast of Scotland wasn’t quite what Lee envisioned, it holds a certain wildness and wonder. There, they meet Charlie (26), who is profoundly Deaf and attempting to clean up after his shady twin brother. Through a developing friendship that surpasses their language barriers, the three boys form a connection that encourages them to step out of their boyhood, discover the courage to be vulnerable, and that joy is possible despite loss.
More: Stroma Cairns is a BAFTA-winning director based in London. The Son and the Sea will be her debut feature. The film is an ode to her Scottish roots, her brother and his father/musician Gavin Clark. The film features music by Gavin Clark and the score is by Toydrum (former UNKLE members). Stroma directed the second block of the BAFTA winning TV series Mood. She was selected for BFI NETWORK x BAFTA Crew mentoring programme. Previously, her short film If You Knew premiered at Sheffield DocFest, and went on to receive the jury’s special commendation award at the BFI London Film Festival. It was also named Best Short Film at Open City Doc Festival and was shortlisted for a Grierson Award. The film was inspired by her own hearing loss and portrays a day in the life of two teenage twins who are profoundly Deaf.
A new, unlikely term has been added to the lexicon of stealth Hollywood marketing stunts — a pesky asterisk.
On Monday, after weeks plotting and planning, Disneys vast marketing machine at last answered the question of why Marvel Studios‘ early summer tentpole is titled Thunderbolts* instead of just Thunderbolts. It turns out the asterisk alludes to a secondary title or tag,*The New Avengers.
But don’t be confused — Disney and Marvel aren’t officially changing the title to Thunderbolts: The New Avengers. Rather, using *The New Avengers is a way to drum up post-opening interest in the film, which brings together a set of misfit MCU outsiders and lesser-known characters who discover their more heroic side when duped by the villainous CIA director Valentine Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). In particular, they want to protect newcomer Bob (Lewis Pullman), who suffers from a mental illness that has catastrophic consequences after he’s subjected to cruel experimentation.
The official OG Avengers superhero franchise is Marvel’s crown jewel, so it’s no wonder why Kevin Feige and Disney, which owns the studio, would want to connect the two. But the last thing they want is to create consumer chaos and have people thinking that next year’s Avengers: Doomsday is Thunderbolts 2 or, conversely, that the latter is part of the official Avengers series.
At the same time, it’s true that several actors from Thunderbolts* are in Doomsday, including Pugh, Pullman, Sebastian Stan (The Winter Soldier), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), David Harbour (Red Guardian) and Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost). And there’s no saying beyond that what the future brings.
Disney marketing chief Asad Ayaz and his team thought long and hard about the timing of the *The New Avengers reveal, and ultimately decided to wait until the Monday after the pic’s opening so as to avoid spoilers as much as possible. In early screenings, they asked fanboys to go along with the ruse and not spoil for others.
The ensemble cast had plenty of fun being in on the gag and participated in a video revealing the payoff title that dropped mid-morning on Monday. Digital materials with the reveal are being dispatched to some theaters, highlighted on the film’s social handles and placed on outdoor billboard in select markets, including the much-sought after billboard known as the Sunset Wall high above West Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard close to Beverly Hills.
A flurry of marketing activities were scheduled for filmmaker Jake Schreier‘s project throughout the day, including a Sunset Wall billboard before-and-after reveal and a video of a new Wheaties popcorn box featuring *New Avengers instead of Thunderbolts* (the cereal giant is a promotional partner on the film). There will also be collectible one-sheet giveaways in certain cinemas.
There are also a number of theater circuits taking part in the marketing switch in the coming days. Imax, Dolby Cinema and other premium-large format screens will share revised displays, while there will be retitled one-sheets in more than 600 theaters. There will be also be updated digital standees in more than 40 theaters, including the digital marquee at the Regal E-Walk in New York City and the Disney-owned El Capitan in Hollywood.
And that’s just in the U.S. Overseas, there will be a number of promotions, including select graffiti stunts highlighting the new unofficial name.
Over the May 2-3 weekend, Thunderbolts* opened to $74.5 million from 4,330 theaters, a solid but not rip-roaring start (Sunday’s estimate was $76 million), according to weekend actuals. While Marvel and Disney would no doubt have liked north of $80 million, the biggest factor in its fate will be how the $180 million movie legs out.
On Monday, Stan himself got his hands dirty, putting up a new poster on a bus stop featuring his Winter Soldier character and the new title.
Natasha Lyonne had a long press line clamoring for her attention Thursday night at the second season premiere of Peacock’s Poker Face in Hollywood. The veteran actress, whose multi-hyphenate duties on the critically acclaimed comedy series include writing, directing, starring and executive producing, didn’t have time to stop for every outlet before she was needed on the American Legion Post 43 stage to introduce the screening alongside her partner-in-crime Rian Johnson.
So she did something rare (and appreciated among the journalists left waiting outside) by heading to the stage to deliver those comments only to return to the red carpet and give every reporter some of her undivided attention. After detailing the “magic” of the new season thanks to a killer line-up of high-profile guest stars, The Hollywood Reporter asked Lyonne about that other new project of hers on the horizon — an artificial intelligence-infused film Uncanny Valley.
News of the project broke two days before the Poker Face premiere and caused a stir. As reported by THR, Lyonne is set to make her feature directorial debut on the film from a script she wrote with Brit Marling and both are on board to star. Set in the world of immersive video games and said to blend live-action and game elements, Uncanny Valley centers on a teenage girl named Mila who becomes unmoored by a hugely popular AR video game in a parallel present. Partners on the project — designed to offer a “radical new cinematic experience,” per an Asteria representative — include technology innovator Jaron Lanier, the AI-based studio Asteria (founded by Lyonne with partner Bryn Mooser) and Moonvalley.
It was obvious that the buzz had reached Lyonne, who was quick to defend the project during her time with THR. “Of course the movie’s going to be shot like a real movie. Now I’m really threatening to just shoot it on 35 [mm] or something to prove the point because [we are using] real-life human cinematographers and production designers and all that, of course,” explained Lyonne. “I’m a Mr. Moviefone. There’s nothing I love more than movies. Cinema is my very celluloid blood that runs through these veins. I love nothing more than filmmaking, the filmmaking community, the collaboration of it, the tactile fine art of it. I love every aspect of it — it’s so incredible. I understand my own church, in a way, even when the rest of the world doesn’t make sense. In no way would I ever want to do anything other than really create some guardrails or a new language.”
The guardrails she referenced relate to how Moonvalley relies on an AI model called “Marey” that is built on data that has been copyright cleared, unlike other viral industry leaders.
“I have this new studio that I founded, Asteria, with Bryn Mooser, and we found these amazing engineers at Moonvalley, and they agreed off this idea of why is every model dirty, like Runway and OpenAI? And why are they building it off of stolen data? Why do cell phones just have stolen data? It’s a problem,” Lyonne said. “What’s so incredible about Marey is that it’s the first underlying foundational model that you build on top of that is actually on copyrighted license, and you can go in with your concept artist and your storyboard artist and start building out a world.”
Lyonne then praised her collaborators like Marling and Lanier, the latter of whom she called “a pretty heavy hitter in this space” and a “philosophical, ethical guy.” She added: “We’re getting to really find these sort of rules of play and start to understand that there might be a way to actually have some artist protection and carve out within all this that keeps us doing the thing that we love.”
Speaking of that affection, Lyonne then recalled how close she was with the iconic filmmaker Nora Ephron. “She was a real mentor of mine — I played a lot of poker — and she would say, ‘Whatever you do, don’t be a female filmmaker. You’re only allowed one mistake and they never let you work again.’ Of course she made so many hits that wasn’t exactly true, but it was an interesting lesson about the opportunities that are given or not. I really see this as a way to get a chance to make those sort of Avengers-style sequences or something that are essentially green screen and CGI. That’s mostly what [AI] is going to be used for, and that’s what the word ‘hybrid’ means here.”
Asteria, an artist-led generative AI film and animation studio, and Moonvalley, an imagination research company, launched the first clean AI video model, which was celebrated at a L.A. party in April hosted by Asteria’s co-founders Bryn Mooser and Natasha Lyonne.
Thunderbolts* co-writer Eric Pearson has been one of Marvel Studios’ most reliable collaborators the last 15 years.
In 2010, the New York City native enrolled in Marvel Studios’ Writers Program, before cutting his teeth on the majority of the Marvel One-Shots series, including Agent Carter (2013), which served as the catalyst for the 2015-16 ABC television series that housed three Pearson-penned episodes. He then performed uncredited writing on Ant-Man (2017) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), paving the way for Thor: Ragnarok (2017), his first co-writing credit on an MCU feature film. He proceeded to do some more script-doctoring on Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) until Black Widow (2021) earned him sole writing credit. In between his Marvel work, Pearson also co-wrote Godzilla vs. Kong and Transformers One.
Coming out of Black Widow, Pearson laid the groundwork for Thunderbolts*, initiating the pitch that teamed up Widow’s Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) with a few other MCU misfits against CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Eventually, he installed the multi-faceted villain of Sentry (Lewis Pullman), establishing the foundation of the now-critically acclaimed film’s much-discussed mental health allegory.
Pearson, in time, handed script responsibilities off to director Jake Schreier’s Beef collaborators, Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo, as he was called into co-writing duty on Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Thus, when the dust settled, he was only caught off guard by one particular change involving Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and her headshot execution of Taskmaster. (In Black Widow, the child version of the character narrowly survived Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton’s attempt to assassinate her father, General Dreykov, and he subsequently turned his gravely injured daughter into a programmable killing machine until Natasha freed her eight years later.)
“When I saw the first cut, the biggest change was Taskmaster taking that shot, and I was shocked,” Pearson tells The Hollywood Reporter. “In my drafts, Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster lived out the movie, and she had a bit of a subplot with Ava/Ghost. They’d both been raised in labs, and Ava big-sistered her into how to break free and be her own person.”
Thunderbolts*’sunlikely union of MCU loners and rejects received the titular nickname when Alexei misinterprets John Walker’s (Wyatt Russell) sarcastic reference to Yelena’s youth soccer team. However, the name wouldn’t last long. Valentina, in a final act of self-preservation, holds a surprise press conference and presents the team as the “New Avengers,” revealing that the asterisk in the title was always meant to signify a placeholder name for something bigger and better. (As originally planned, the marketing for the film has now officially rebranded itself as The New Avengers.)
“That was a Kevin [Feige] thing. I pitched that Valentina is forced to introduce the Thunderbolts [to the public], and Kevin said, ‘I think that she should call them the Avengers.’ And I was like, ‘Whoa, okay!’” Pearson recalls. “And then there were many, many discussions: ‘Capital N? Lowercase n? Are they Avengers that are new? Are they the New Avengers?’ But that was Kevin’s idea, and it’s part of some four-dimensional chess plan that I don’t totally know yet.”
At one point during development, Yelena was going to further resolve a Clint Barton-related subplot that was set up in Black Widow’s post-credit scene and carried out in the Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld-led Disney+ series, Hawkeye. In the preceding stinger, Valentina tasked Yelena with a mission to do away with Clint, citing him as “the man responsible” for Natasha’s (Scarlett Johansson) death. But Clint later set the record straight so that Yelena understood that her adoptive sister sacrificed herself for the sake of bringing half the population back from Thanos’ blip, including Yelena.
“I loved [the confrontation scene] because it emphasized Valentina’s manipulation. Yelena entered the scene on fire, furious, accusing Valentina of setting her up to take out her sister’s killer, when, in reality, he was her best friend,” Pearson shares. “Then Valentina completely flipped the script on Yelena. I believe the line was: ‘Set you up? You mean paid you to do a job that, by the way, you didn’t even do? So I heard some bad gossip, pardon me for trying to motivate you. But this is your job, and asking questions isn’t a part of it.’”
Pearson is also revealing that, prior to Sentry’s involvement, John Walker was once the centerpiece of Valentina’s nefarious scheme.
“There were a lot of versions where Valentina had planted this kind of timebomb inside John Walker, and the goal was to make him the most unlikeable person on the team,” Pearson says. “He then becomes the monster, and [the Thunderbolts] have to talk him down. It didn’t ever totally work.”
Below, during a recent spoiler conversation with THR, Pearson also discusses the absence of Rachel Weisz’s Melina, as well as his ominous one-word tease of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
***
Thunderbolts* is your eight or ninth official Marvel credit. Do you currently have a deal with Disney or Marvel? Or do they have you on speed dial?
I’m more on speed dial right now. I’m supposed to go in and talk to them. It’s not about anything specific, but I think they’re doing the early furniture arranging of what’s next after Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. So I’m supposed to have a meeting to window-shop, I suppose, or to see if anything fits or is exciting. But I’m floating around on my own right now.
Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*
Courtesy of Marvel Studios
Assuming that Thunderbolts* was always a Yelena-centered ensemble, you’re obviously the natural choice to kick-start it since you wrote Black Widow. Was that Marvel’s thinking as well?
That was actually my thinking. Marvel didn’t really have a plan for a Thunderbolts movie. I brought it to them, but I was thinking that, having had the pleasure to meet Florence on Black Widow and write the first Yelena Belova stuff and work with her to build that character, with her doing quite a bit of heavy lifting there. She’s incredible, and I knew that she was someone who could carry a movie like this. I didn’t want to go in saying, “Let’s hide a Yelena movie in a team-up movie.” I wanted it to be a team.
The Avengers had the centerpiece of Tony Stark and Captain America, and the duality of those guys at the lead. For the Thunderbolts and the way that I wanted to view these team members and the themes of the movie, it felt like Yelena was a natural leader. I’m not sure if this comparison is fully baked, but the idea is that she’s Michael Corleone and Bucky is Tom Hagen. That’s the way that I see it.
Was this storyalways meant to smuggle the “New Avengers” into the mix?
That was a Kevin [Feige] thing. I told him I wanted to do a Thunderbolts movie and the way in was going to be through Yelena bringing them together against Valentina. I tried one pitch that didn’t work, and the second pitch was very, very close to the movie that we have now. I ended the pitch with Yelena whispering in Valentina’s ear, “You work for us now,” essentially. So I pitched that Valentina is forced to introduce the Thunderbolts [to the public], and Kevin said, “I think that she should call them the Avengers.” And I was like, “Whoa, okay!”
That was his one big note from the pitch, and when you get one note from a Marvel pitch, you get out of there. So I was like, “Okay, cool. I don’t know what your plan is for the New Avengers.” And then there were many, many discussions: “Capital N? Lowercase n? Are they Avengers that are new? Are they the New Avengers?” But that was Kevin’s idea, and it’s part of some four-dimensional chess plan that I don’t totally know yet.
David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky, Florence Pugh’s. Yelena and Wyatt Russell’s Walker in Thunderbolts*.
Courtesy of Marvel Studios
When the Thunderbolts are trapped in Oxe’s vault, they put their heads together to find a way out, and the solution was to put their butts together in order to climb up the silo. And the shape of their bodies is actually an asterisk. Did you notice that?
(Laughs.) As soon as you said “the shape of their bodies,” I was like, “Oh my God, it’s an asterisk!” I had not thought about that before, but it’s brilliant. The asterisk came later as well. In my drafts of the script, there was always the peewee Thunderbolts [soccer] team; that was where the name came from. We were obviously not doing Thunderbolt Ross [as inspiration from the Thunderbolts Red run]. But the asterisk was a thing that I saw later when they were in production, and I was just like, “That’s really cheeky, and I like it.”
Was there a soccer team photo in Black Widow’s photo album or the Ohio house where Yelena and Natasha grew up with Alexei and Melina?
I would love to go back and see, but I don’t think so. [Writer’s Note: After my own review, there was no soccer team photo in Black Widow.] It was probably two drafts into [Thunderbolts*] when we got the idea of Alexei calling out Yelena’s youth soccer league and having it be this great moment of both pride, connection and embarrassment for her.
Despite the deleted kiss at the end of BlackWidow, there’s still an implication that Alexei (David Harbour) and Melina (Rachel Weisz) have rekindled their romance that began as an arranged marriage for their undercover operation in Ohio. However, she’s absent in Thunderbolts*, and David Harbour indicated to me that he’s been making the case for more of her/Rachel behind the scenes. Was she excluded because a happy Alexei-Melina would undercut the film’s selling point involving a band of loners and rejects?
It was kind of what you’re saying. Alexei is in a similar emotional crater as Yelena. He just masks it much better with a lot more facade and bravado. Happiness was the enemy of the beginning of this movie. You didn’t want these characters to feel like they had anywhere to go that was emotionally stable or safe or supportive. You wanted all of them right there at the edge of the void. Also, I felt like the connection was so strong between Alexei and Yelena [in Black Widow], and I always found that the [other] hard love connection was Melina and Natasha. There’s that inspiring moment of Melina just being impressed by Natasha. So Alexei and Yelena were the peanut butter and chocolate for me; they just go so well together.
Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) in Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*
Chuck Zlotnick/MARVEL
Taskmaster’s already tragic life ended in quite a startling way. I can’t think of too many characters in the MCU, if any, who were executed like that via headshot.
That is the one biggest change. I didn’t get to go to set and finish out this one. I was actually back in Burbank working on FantasticFour at that point. When I saw the first cut, the biggest change was Taskmaster taking that shot, and I was shocked. In my drafts, Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster lived out the movie, and she had a bit of a subplot with Ava/Ghost. They’d both been raised in labs, and Ava big-sistered her into how to break free and be her own person.
But I understand why they did it. It was probably just because of my audience reaction of being genuinely surprised. But everything else was exactly where I expected it to be, and Jake said, “We wanted to surprise the audience and raise the stakes and say, ‘Yeah, there’s danger here. No one’s safe.’ There’s a lot of saying that they’re bad people and seeing that they’re good people, so let’s make sure that we know that they’ve done bad things and have been living their lives doing harsh heartless things.”
Who knows how intentional it was, but there’s a cool moment where a window curtain strangles Bob (Lewis Pullman) and Yelena à la Natasha and Yelena’s fight in Black Widow.
Again, I wasn’t on set, but it seems so specific that I can’t imagine it not being [intentional]. If it’s not, it’s a hell of a coincidence. That was one of the most fun fights to think of [for Black Widow], and while I can’t say I designed it, I threw ideas into it. We didn’t want to end it in a draw, as in they decide they’re both the best. But whoever passes out first is going to be the first one to die, so let’s have them call a truce. So finding that moment in the fight was so great, and I hope that [the Thunderbolts* moment] was a cool little homage.
Were there any other Black Widow ties that didn’t ultimately make the final film?
No, not that I can think of. As much as we love that and where they came from, we didn’t want there to be too much looking in the past. We had to address the forever loss of Natasha and that effect on Yelena and Alexei. But we really wanted to push forward because Yelena is taking a big leadership role moving forward with this, and it’s a big journey for her. She is naturally anti-establishment, and if you look too much into the past, she couldn’t move that far forward.
Now that Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans have come back in unique capacities, do you think it’s only a matter of time before Scarlett Johansson is making her signature pose in the MCU again?
I will preface by saying that I have no idea, but I don’t think so. I feel like her end in Endgame and then her epilogue with our BlackWidow prequel were so lovely. So I would be surprised, but I know nothing about that. I have very little knowledge of what’s going on with Doomsday right now.
Did you ever have a draft of Thunderbolts* in which Yelena does Natasha’s pose again?
Maybe very early on. I don’t think I would’ve done it to have just done the same joke again …
Without calling attention to it was what I had in mind.
Yeah, I can’t remember the different angle I would’ve had on it. But there’s some drafts from a while ago because we were stalled by the strike. There’s a lot of early drafts that dealt with the fact that Valentina had sent Yelena to go after Hawkeye, but as more time passed, I didn’t know if that was the right touchstone to call on people to remember when it happened four years ago [in Black Widow and Hawkeye]. So things shift all the time, but I can’t remember a specific poser joke. [Writer’s Note: After anothing viewing, Alexei launches Yelena à la Steve Rogers and Natasha in The Avengers. Yelena also does a pose en route to hugging Bob that is somewhat reminiscent of Natasha.]
Was Yelena going to confront Val about what Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) confirmed to be faulty intel in Hawkeye? Do you think Val purposefully misled Yelena?
Early drafts began with Yelena confronting Valentina about ordering the Clint Barton hit, which was one of my favorite scenes that eventually became not entirely relevant to the Thunderbolts* story. I loved it because it emphasized Valentina’s manipulation. Yelena entered the scene on fire, furious, accusing Valentina of setting her up to take out her sister’s killer, when, in reality, he was her best friend. Then Valentina completely flipped the script on Yelena. I believe the line was: “Set you up? You mean paid you to do a job that, by the way, you didn’t even do? So I heard some bad gossip, pardon me for trying to motivate you. But this is your job, and asking questions isn’t a part of it.” And then that led into the conversation about how Yelena is unhappy with her job/life and wants to make a change towards something more constructive.
Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), Lewis Pullman (Bob), Wyatt Russell (John Walker), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Florence Pugh (Yelena), Sebastian Stan (Bucky) in Thunderbolts*
Chuck Zlotnick/MARVEL
Jake Schreier told me that Sentry wasn’t in your draft that he read before he committed, but that he was added to the very next one. Was the depression theme born out of Sentry? Or did you have some of those seeds planted already?
I think he might be wrong on that by one draft, but I’d have to check the timeline. I really, really wanted to end the third act with a hug, with an emotional moment, as opposed to a beating into submission. So there were a lot of versions where Valentina had planted this kind of timebomb inside John Walker, and the goal was to make him the most unlikeable person on the team. He then becomes the monster, and they have to talk him down. It didn’t ever totally work.
But thank God for my time in the Marvel Writers Program. I read the Sentry run back then, and in thinking about another villain that they can’t beat in a punching fight, I was like, “Wasn’t there a Superman who also had a dark side to him?” So I went back and read some of it, and it was very much like, “Yeah, The Sentry is the golden God of pure goodness, and the Void is pure evil. That can just as easily work for heroic ambition and self-esteem versus depression and self-loathing and loneliness and isolation.” So, yeah, it always was [planted]. Once we saw that and realized that all the character arcs were embodied in one person who could be the physical antagonist, that’s when the movie really locked together.
But I’m surprised. I thought that there was a draft with the Sentry before Jake came on. I remember him really locking into the Void Space. My idea of the Void Space was a lot more ethereal and dreamy. But his was more Being John Malkovich room mazes of very real, grounded stuff. So that helped incredibly in visualizing it and making it feel more unsettling.
I had someone call me earlier to say that her husband saw Thunderbolts* last night with his friends, and that they had a great time before speaking about mental health. The ultimate goal is for the audience to have a great time, and if there’s this added benefit of having meaningful conversations, how great is that?
You were all there at roughly the same time, but did you know Jake, Jon Watts or Chris Ford at NYU?
No, I met Jon Watts during the Spider-Man: Homecoming reshoots, and we ran down the list of teachers and all that. So we were right next to each other, and we probably rode in the same elevators a bunch of times or passed each other on the streets. But I didn’t know any of them until we got out here, and they’re a cool crew of people. When Jake came on, he showed me a bunch of the weird videos they’d shot in Brooklyn when they got out of college, and it seemed so fun. I didn’t have the same kind of creative ambition amongst my friend group. I guess we did do some videos, but theirs were just way better. (Laughs.)
Thunderbolts* ends with a Fantastic Four-branded ship headed straight for Earth-616 from their parallel Earth. I assumed this would be answered in The Fantastic Four: FirstSteps like the handoff of Fury’s pager from Avengers: Infinity War’s post-credit scene to Captain Marvel’s mid-credit scene. But it was shot by the Russos on the Avengers: Doomsday set, potentially as part of Doomsday.
I can’t speak to that part.
In any event, what do you make of this bridge between Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps?
I don’t think I can say anything, honestly. I can’t take credit for that tag scene either. I believe [co-writer] Joanna Calo wrote that, and I’m very jealous of it. It’s so funny and good. One of my favorite parts of the whole movie is John Walker saying, “I don’t know what any of these buttons do, nobody labeled them.” (Laughs.) That, for me, is one of the funniest things.
Have you seen The Fantastic Four: First Steps at this point?
I have seen one cut of Fantastic Four, but it was before additional photography.
Can you share an adjective or two?
I will share a proper noun: Galactus. That’s all I’m going to say.
Ryan Coogler’s 1932-set vampire movie Sinners has become a cultural phenomenon, and I’m sure that everybody at Marvel is elated for him. That said, has it made the Blade situation slightly more frustrating since there’s clearly an appetite for vampiric mayhem? (Costume designer Ruth E. Carter recently confirmed that, prior to Coogler hiring her for Sinners, she’d been prepping a now-defunct 1920s-set Blade. Pearson was a co-writer on the overall project.)
I cannot talk about The Blade situation. I’m so sorry. I wish I could, but I can’t. Sinners, though, that movie rules.
What else is on the horizon for you?
I’ve been working on this movie Fast and Loose for Netflix. It’s an action movie with a fun premise. [Writer’s Note: Will Smith and Michael Bay are attached.] I wanted this [other] deal to close so I could tell you guys, but there’s a franchise at a different studio that I’m hoping to reboot soon. They just couldn’t get the numbers straight, so I can’t say it. But hopefully we can talk about it during Fantastic Four.
*** Thunderbolts* is now playing in movie theaters nationwide.
Mandy Moore, best known to screen audiences as one of the stars of NBC’s This Is Us, has joined comedian Nate Bargatze in The Breadwinner, a comedy feature that Eric Appel is directing for TriStar Pictures.
Additionally, up and comers Stella Grace Fitzgerald (Rebel Moon), Birdie Borria (The Fabelmans) and Charlotte Ann Tucker (Thunderbolts*) have joined the cast to play the onscreen couple’s daughters in the film.
Bargatze, one of the world’s top touring comedians, co-wrote the script and is producing the film with Dan Lagna. Former Marvel Studios exec Jeremy Latcham is also produce for Wonder Project.
The story sees the life of Bargatze’s character turned upside down when his supermom wife, played by Moore, lands a deal on Shark Tank. The lifelong breadwinner of the family becomes a stay-at-home dad, and quickly realizes he’s in way over his head.
Moore starred for six seasons as Rebecca Pearson in NBC’s award-winning drama This Is Us, earning multiple Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations. She recently portrayed investigative journalist Benita Alexander in Peacock’s Dr. Death alongside Édgar Ramírez.
She is also known for voicing Rapunzel in Disney’s Tangled movie, as well as the character’s many iterations across TV and video games. More recently, Moore lent her voice to Hulu’s top animated series Happy Family USA, created by Ramy Youssef and Pam Brady. She repped by Gersh, Untitled Entertainment and Johnson Shapiro.
Fitzgerald is repped by Gersh and Luber Roklin Entertainment. Borria is repped by DDO Artists Agency and Brave Artists, and Tucker is repped by The Osbrink Agency and New Beginnings Entertainment.
Denzel Washington is a music mogul on the move in the first teaser trailer for Spike Lee‘s Highest 2 Lowest.
The montage-heavy preview features quick scenes from the film interspersed with images of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Washington and co-star A$AP Rocky are shown on the move, with what looks like police in hot pursuit.
Over the visuals, Washington’s character in voiceover says, “There’s more to life than just making money. It’s integrity. There’s what you stand for. It’s what you actually believe in. Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe you’ll be successful? The hard times will come from the good times. The hard times will come from success. The hard times will come from the money. And the mayhem follows. So can you handle the mayhem? Can you handle the money? Can you handle the success? Can you handle the failure? Can you handle the lovers? Can you handle the memes? Can you handle everything that there is in between? That’s the question I have for you: Can you handle it? All money ain’t good money.”
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Lee dropped the preview on his Instagram account on Monday, writing in part, “I know u have been waiting ‘hella long’.”
The team-up marks Washington and Lee’s first film together in nearly 20 years and fifth collaboration overall.
Highest 2 Lowest, a New York City-set reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller High and Low, stars Washington as a powerful music industry exec, known for having the “best ears in the business,” who’s targeted in a ransom plot that puts him in a life-or-death moral dilemma.
Highest 2 Lowest — the cast of which also includes Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice and Ilfenesh Hadera — will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday, May 19.
The film will get a theatrical release from A24 on Aug. 22 before arriving on Apple TV+ on Sept. 5.
