For some time, rumors swirled that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was eyeing a Thunderbolts movie. Fans were skeptical, though, as Marvel Studios, unlike Warner Bros. and DC, wasn't a brand that seemed to be up for glorifying villains. However, it looks like the project is moving forward, with Jake Schreier reportedly tapped to direct the long-gestating property.
However, with little information released, fans are already speculating about who could be behind the team and which members will get hired for the black-ops missions. Interestingly, with a couple of Netflix characters back in play in the MCU, there's an opportunity to revive one nefarious villain from that realm -- Daredevil's Bullseye.
In the third season of Daredevil, Benjamin Poindexter (played by Wilson Bethel) was an ex-FBI agent who got hired to impersonate the Man without Fear. He engaged in a brutal war with Matt Murdock in Hell's Kitchen, and while he was defeated, the finale saw him modified to become Bullseye. However, the cliffhanger was bittersweet because the show got canned along with the other Marvel properties at Netflix.
But with Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home as Peter Parker's lawyer and Kingpin appearing in Hawkeye, it means Bullseye could be fair play. And Thunderbolts would be a great fit for him, which ties back to the comics where he was brought in during CivilWar to hunt illegal superhumans down by the government. He'd later pretend to be Hawkeye in Norman Osborn's reign, and both narratives match what he was already doing in Hell's Kitchen in Daredevil.
With studio president Kevin Feige admitting the Avengers movies are over, Countess Valentina Allegra de Fontaine may instead be helming the Thunderbolts instead of the Dark Avengers. Seeing as she's got Yelena Belova as her new Black Widow and John Walker as her dark Captain America, Ben in his Bullseye suit can become her twisted spin on Hawkeye. As this false equivalent, he'd craft out great tension with Yelena and John, who may slowly realize they're on the wrong team after seeing such a sadistic man endorsed in the field.
Bullseye breaking the rules, skewing the team's moral compass and possibly killing could even show Val her team's not the symbol she envisioned. And removing him from the team could be what fully unleashes his berserker mode. That would complete Bullseye's origin story, allowing him to leave and resume a personal vendetta against heroes he thinks are worthy, whether it be Daredevil again, Hawkeye or even a new face such as Spidey. It would also set him up to find kindred spirits such as Kraven the Hunter to form deadly alliances and give him that space in the MCU to be an unfettered monster.
