Bucky Barnes’ upcoming Avengers replacement team has one big problem the MCU won’t be able to fix. Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* is set to release in 2025, featuring a collection of antiheroes who operate in the gray on behalf of the US government. However, one of the movie’s most exciting elements may also prove to be one of its biggest challenges at the same time.

In 2022, Marvel Studios officially announced its upcoming Thunderbolts* project and key cast of characters. This includes Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes (the former Winter Soldier), who’s been teased as the new MCU team’s field leader. At the same time, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine will officially run the team in the interests of the American government. Other notable members include Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell’s U.S.Agent, Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster, and Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, all of them being pre-existing characters who’ve been seen before in the MCU (which may pose a key problem).

Revisiting Thunderbolts’ Cast Is A Major MCU Undertaking

Lots Of Previous Watch-Time

The main cast of Thunderbolts* announced thus far all have one thing in common: they’re all pre-existing characters who’ve already been introduced in the MCU. Case in point, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky has been a part of this massive interconnected universe for almost a decade and half. Likewise, each other member of this new team has been debuted in previous MCU projects.

Beyond Bucky, Ghost made her debut in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, while Yelena Belova, Taskmaster, and Red Guardian all entered the MCU through 2020’s Black Widow. Likewise, U.S.Agent and Valentina debuted in 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. To that end, bringing all of these known characters together as one dynamic government-sponsored team is quite an undertaking for Marvel Studios and the MCU. However, it does create some interesting wrinkles.

Bucky’s MCU Timeline Is Great For The Franchise (But Makes Thunderbolts More Complicated)

The Winter Soldier Has Dealt With A Lot

Zeroing in on Barnes alone, seeing Bucky leading a brand-new team of heroes in the MCU creates a noteworthy obstacle. Initially, the former Winter Soldier getting the opportunity to help lead a group of similar characters with darker and more questionable pasts is very exciting and a great premise for a future MCU project. However, there’s undeniably quite a lot of ground to cover and foreknowledge needed to truly understand where Bucky has been and what kind of person he’ll be at the start of 2025’s Thunderbolts*.

Since his debut in 2011’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky/Winter Soldier/White Wolf has appeared in a total of seven MCU movies. Bucky also has 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, his own Disney+ series shared with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson who eventually becomes the next Captain America. Of those projects, 5 of those movies (and his series) are crucial to understanding the full scope of Bucky’s extensive journey in the MCU:

Having gone from a Howling Commando in WWII to a brainwashed Hydra assassin who was eventually saved by Steve Rogers’ Captain America, Bucky is currently a hero in the modern era, struggling to find redemption while grappling with his darker past. That said, this does mean that audiences will have quite a bit of watch-time ahead of them should they want to truly get acquainted with Bucky’s complex story, or even those wanting a refresher ahead of 2025’s Thunderbolts*. However, Bucky Banes is certainly not the only factor at play.

Thunderbolts’ Strongest Cast Trick Creates 1 Problem For The Upcoming MCU Movie

Reminding Audiences Where The Thunderbolts Have Been (And Even Who They Are)

In the same vein, the true strength of Thunderbolts* getting so many known characters together for a new MCU team also creates a potential weakness. The true challenge will be if audiences can even remember some of these team members to begin with before recalling when and where they were last seen and what they’ve been up to since. As a prime example, Ghost’s first and last MCU appearance was 6 years ago, and over 30 projects will have been released between then and when Thunderbolts* hits theaters. To that end, there’s certainly a lot to take into account regarding this upcoming superhero team.