While the movie brought back a wide range of characters while also introducing a few key new ones, <em>Thunderbolts* </em>was notably missing Rachel Weisz' Melina, a pretty important inclusion after <em>Black Widow </em>ended with her and David Harbour's Alexei seemingly had a romantic rekindling, and the movie focuses on him and Florence Pugh's Yelena, and also features Taskmaster. None of the writers or director of the movie have clarified whether she was even in talks for a return, and she's not referenced at all in the movie. Part of me thinks it's likely it was a scheduling conflict amid the movie's shifting schedule from the 2023 Hollywood strikes, but a lack of mentions in the movie do make me worried Marvel has moved on from her.
