The True Villain in the 'Thunderbolts' Movie Might Not Be as Easy to See Right Away

When Marvel announced its plans for Thunderbolts, the ensemble film with a cast of ragtag former villains ready to do some good, it was basically Marvel's version of DC's Suicide Squad. But, because literally no one had any complaints about that, the main concern was who the villain is in Thunderbolts and how the team could beat them.

Thanks to some trailers, fan theories, and cast details, there does seem to be confirmation about who the villain is and isn't in Thunderbolts. While, technically, everyone in the group has at some point done something bad, the antiheroes are clearly the ones to root for in the film. Especially since some fan favorites, including former Winter Soldier Bucky and Black Widow Yelena, are part of the team this time around.

Original trailers for Thunderbolts hinted that one of the members of team, Sentry, is the big bad because of his alter ego, Void. Sentry and Void are essentially one and the same, and they are meant to balance each other out. Whenever Sentry does good, Void comes out to do something evil to balance the scale.

Although Sentry is part of the group of antiheroes in Thunderbolts, the inner struggle with keeping Void at bay is likely one of the driving forces of the movie. However, Void might not be the only villain of the movie. According to clips shared at CinemaCon, Valentina, who brings the team together, might actually turn against them and plan for their deaths.

If that's the case, then Valentina could be the true villain of Thunderbolts instead of Void. It still hasn't been confirmed, but that could be a heel turn at some point in the movie, even if Void is posed as the main supervillain threat to the group and for their mission. Either way, Void is a formidable villain for the team as it is, as comic book fans know all too well.

Valentina assembles the group in Thunderbolts at a time when there is a lack of a new Avengers team, and although there are no solid heroes like Captain America or Thor in the mix, it's still a group of super-human or specially trained humans, most of whom have proven themselves in other Marvel movies and TV shows already.

Yelena was originally in Black Widow, as was Red Guardian and Taskmaster. Then, there's Bucky, who was first seen in Captain America: The First Avenger, though he went on to make more appearances in other movies and a Disney Plus show he co-starred in. U.S. Agent, who was in the show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, is also part of the team, as is Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Thunderbolts is the first time fans are seeing Sentry and Void outside of the comics.