If there’s one person who will always keep it refreshingly honest in the Hollywood movie-making machine, even when they have a high-profile upcoming Marvel movie, it’s David Harbour. The Stranger Things and Black Widow star—returning as Red Guardian in the upcoming Thunderbolts*—recently reacted to the film’s long-awaited trailer drop, and his response is equal parts cheeky, self-aware, and 100% on brand.
In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Harbour reacted to his upcoming superhero movie’s most recent arthouse-inspired trailer, which plays more like a film festival teaser than a Marvel blockbuster. The trailer leaned heavily into highlighting its cast and crew's prestige, showcasing past credits and artistic collaborators more commonly seen in A24 projects. But the former Hellboy star thinks things could have gone a bit further, noting:
Yeah, I would also like to take it even a step further: I am a Tony nominee. Tony-nominated David Harbour. So we have theater, we've done off-Broadway plays together. All of us are a bunch of film and theater nerds. I mean, look, Jake (Schreier) is a funny guy, and I think we're all aware of how ridiculous this movie sounded to the Marvel community a year ago when it was presented. Like, these losers, you're going to put them all in a film and have them run around with no reference to whatever?
That’s right: Red Guardian is putting some respect on the résumés. And he’s not wrong. The Thunderbolts* cast includes Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, and Wyatt Russell—all of whom bring serious acting pedigree. And rather than shy away from the idea that this MCU flick might be “too artsy,” Harbour is all in on that chaos. The Creature Commandos voice star continued:
And then I think that it allowed us a real freedom to do something different. And I think we really tried to do that. And so the gratifying thing has been with the trailers coming out, and I think having seen the movie, I think it's exciting and I think that it's a sort of shot in the arm for what's next for Marvel, and yeah, it's full of pretentious Oscar nominees like Florence Pugh. So what are you going to do? We have to highlight that. Sebastian Stan. I mean, the credits are insane. The awards, the glitter, it's absolute pure cinema, Liam.
While the full plot of Thunderbolts* is still tightly under wraps, the tone being teased so far feels more subversive, grounded, and character-driven than anything coming from the MCU in some time. With Beef director Jake Schreier at the helm, and an offbeat lineup of conflicted heroes and villains, the film is shaping up to be less Avengers: Assemble and more Shameless with superheroes.
Harbour’s comments seem to confirm what fans have suspected since the first trailer dropped, continuing through the Superbowl spot, and now the A24-inspired third trailer: this isn’t MCU business as usual. This is Marvel swinging in a new direction—and leaning into its weirder, darker corners. And if David Harbour’s this excited, maybe we should be too.
Thunderbolts* hits the 2025 movie schedule, releasing on May 2, 2025. Until then, consider screaming all the MCU movies in order with your Disney+ subscription.
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