‘Thunderbolts*’ leak reveals shocking twist, and now everyone has the same complaint

With so much secrecy surrounding this one, it’s not like there’s too much hype flying around the film either as yet. Nor is Marvel going the right way about generating any at this rate. A new leaked synopsis for Thunderbolts* has hit the internet (via Daniel RPK), and unfortunately it’s leaving many fans feeling a little underwhelmed. Warning, potential plot spoilers ahead…

OK, here’s how it goes:

“Yelena, US Agent, Ghost, and Taskmaster are sent by Val to kill someone in a vault. They realize they’ve been set up and were meant to die on this mission. So they team up against their boss to take her down.”

As Bully Maguire might say, we were looking at some old superhero movies and it looks very… similar.

Thunderbolts* plot details seemingly confirm it’s Suicide Squad 3 in all but name

Yes, that Thunderbolts* synopsis will definitely give some serious déjà vu to anyone who has seen a Suicide Squad movie. Comparisons to DC’s own team of supervillains and anti-heroes pressganged into doing good were always going to be hard to avoid, but this logline suggests director Jake Scheier’s movie won’t even attempt to hide its obvious inspirations.

The ragtag group of rogues being set up and left for dead by their untrustworthy female governmental spymaster? Swap Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val out for Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller and that’s literally the plot of both 2016’s Suicide Squad and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. And don’t think fans haven’t noticed.

This paragraph-long premise can basically be boiled down to just three simple words;

If Bucky or someone doesn’t quote Will Smith’s iconic Suicide Squad line in Thunderbolts*, Marvel will have missed a trick.

Speaking of Bucky, not every single soul is complaining about the Suicide Squad ripoff. That’s only 95% of people. The other 5%, meanwhile, are complaining that Bucky is missing from this synopsis, suggesting Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier will play a reduced role in the plot.

At this juncture, it might seem a tad disappointing that Marvel elected to hew so closely to the Suicide Squad mold for this one, when the comics present them with a few different roads they could’ve taken — presenting the Thunderbolts as anti-heroes genuinely looking for redemption, rather than being controlled, or depicting them as a team of heroes before revealing they’re villains in disguise. Instead, they’re the Suicide Squad in all but name. Task Force Xerox, you might say.

Nevertheless, we may all change our minds once we get our first glimpse at Thunderbolts* when a teaser trailer gets here. Then again, Suicide Squad had a great trailer too, and look how that turned out. This one really could go either way come its release on May 5, 2025.