Across the MCU so far, Avengers Tower has been a beacon of hope in New York – the home of Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and co, keeping a watchful eye on
Across the MCU so far, Avengers Tower has been a beacon of hope in New York – the home of Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and co, keeping a watchful eye on the city, ready to protect its citizens from danger. It was the scene of that epic Loki-Hulk smackdown in Avengers, hosted a rockin’ party in Avengers: Age Of Ultron (until the titular AI gatecrashed and killed the vibe), and was the location for a pivotal time-heist moment in Avengers: Endgame. But in the wake of Tony Stark’s death, and with no Avengers line-up to speak of, it isn’t Avengers Tower any more. In Thunderbolts*, it has novel ownership.
These days, it’s the headquarters of Val – aka Valentina Allegra de Fontaine – the mysterious and murky CIA director played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, previously seen recruiting disgraced Captain America wannabe John Walker (Wyatt Russell) for future service at the end of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, and sending Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova on a murderous mission in Black Widow. And under Val’s reign, Avengers Tower is now known, somewhat ominously, as ‘Watchtower’. “We know what that tower means,” Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier tells Empire, teasing a portent of things to come. “Who’s the person you would least like to own that tower, that means so much to so many people? Can you use that as a symbol of things taking a darker turn?”
It’s clear Val will be integral in bringing together the mismatched group of misanthropes who come to form the Thunderbolts team – the most Avengers-adjacent among them being Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, formerly the Winter Soldier. “It’s like the Al Pacino quote from Godfather III,” laughs Stan. “Every time I try to get out, they pull me back in. Bucky is going to come across this group, and realise that they’re quite similar, in a way, to him. So I think he feels he can contribute and be a leader.” Hopefully he can bring a dash of that old-school Steve Rogers heroism to the building that was once Avengers Tower.
Read Empire’s full Thunderbolts* cover story – going on set of Marvel’s unexpected team-up movie with the likes of Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Sebastian Stan and more – in the May 2025 issue, on sale Thursday 13 March. Pre-order a copy online here. Thunderbolts* comes to UK cinemas on 1 May.
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