Is Marvel too afraid of practical stunt work? Florence Pugh reveals that she had to fight the studio for one key scene in the upcoming Thunderbolts film.
Marvel has infamously been on a losing streak in the eyes of fans over the past few years. And while nothing is for sure yet, it seems the studio is finding their silver screen savior in the oddest of places: Thunderbolts. The film doesn’t just have a stacked cast, with Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman leading the charge, but it has also enraptured fans with some of the most engaging and visceral action that the studio has ever put to film.
Marvel actually released a behind-the-scenes featurette from Thunderbolts showcasing one of the film’s most daring stunts. As a set piece for the beginning of the film, the team wanted Florence Pugh’s character to jump off the world’s second tallest building: the Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The building stands at an absolutely staggering 2,722 feet tall. Though, as seen in the clip below, Pugh didn’t flinch an inch when faced with the prospect of pulling the scene of practically.
Thunderbolts’ Controversial Stunts
Though it seems not everyone was as ecstatic about the stunt as Florence Pugh. According to the actress, Marvel Studios was actually apprehensive about trying to pull off the opening set piece practically. However, after a few emails to the head honcho Kevin Feige himself, Pugh was eventually able to convince the higher ups to let the Thunderbolts team cook when it comes to their stunt work.
“I got on all the emails,” Pugh remarked to Variety. “It was in the script, and then slowly as we got closer and closer to shooting, they said they don’t think it’s going to happen because it’s a crazy insurance ordeal and obviously we’re not going to throw [me] off the second tallest building in the world. I was like what the fuck? Of course we are! We have to do that.”
“I was being a sassy Karen emailing Kevin [Feige] and saying it’s going to do wonders for the press tour. We have to do this! We’re going to have three women break three different Guinness World Records and we’ll do this and this. I had to keep on pushing and then they’re like, ‘Okay, if you want to fall off the second tallest building, we’ll figure it out for you.’”
“I don’t mind heights. I quite like them and enjoy them, but that was a whole different ballgame and insane. The mental control I had to do that day was its own super power. I fell asleep for three hours after I did the stunt because my brain [went down].”
Given how dangerous the prospect of jumping off the second tallest building in the world is, it’s no wonder that Marvel Studios would be wary of letting an actress as billable as Florence Pugh jump off the top of it. However, their decision to relent to the team’s suggestion shows that the studio has been more than willing to trust the process when it comes to crafting Thunderbolts. Hopefully, it pays off post-release as much as it has been paying off in the lead-up.
Thunderbolts is currently set to hit theaters on May 2, 2025. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
