LOS ANGELES - Digital Domain (www.digitaldomain.com) contributed nearly 200 shots to Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts, including two centerpiece sequences. The Digital Domain team was led by VFX supervisor Nikos Kalaitzidis, and rather than follow the traditional spectacle that superhero films have become known for, instead focuses on realism, tension and seamless integration of invisible effects into practical sets.
Digital Domain was responsible for developing the digital assets for Yelena Belova (Black Widow), John Walker (Walker), and Ava Starr (Ghost), which were also shared with other VFX vendors for use throughout the film. The studio also handled two highlight sequences - a brutal vault fight and a high-stakes elevator shaft escape.
The vault sequence unfolds inside a hidden vault owned by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. After luring the Thunderbolts into the space under false pretenses, de Fontaine sets off a brutal confrontation. As the stakes rise, the team realizes it has to work together in order to survive. The vault was built as a 100-foot-long, 24-foot-high practical set. Digital Domain extended the environment digitally where needed, adding depth with walls, vents and connecting hallways. The team also digitally replaced the vault ground and foreground elements in certain cases, while adding detailed simulations of paper and set-dressed boxes to help further integrate the actors within the environment. As the vault brawl unfolds, the VFX team removed stunt rigs, cables and safety pads, while also enhancing character movements through a combination of full stunt replacements and targeted stunt enhancements. As Taskmaster fights off Walker, for example, her arm was independently retimed and repositioned to maintain momentum and eliminate unnatural pauses in the original choreography. Digital Domain added finishing touches, like 3D sparks using Houdini, and interactive shield lighting, helping to sell the intensity of the fight while staying grounded in the scene's realism.
In another highlight, Yelena (Florence Pugh) is thrown across the room in a single, uninterrupted camera move. Traditionally, this kind of stunt might have involved a digital double and a quick handoff during motion blur. However, the filmmakers wanted to linger on the grittiness of the fight, rather than relying on a quick cut or motion blur. To achieve this, the team blended a stunt performer’s take with Florence Pugh’s performance using Digital Domain’s proprietary face-swapping tool, Charlatan. This sequence marked the first time Charlatan was used to assist in replacing an actor’s body, including hair and costume. The two shots featured different camera moves and perspectives, so Digital Domain reconciled them in 3D, created a seamless master camera, reconstructed the environment and used a combination of Charlatan, compositing and a digital double of Yelena to unify the shot. Charlatan was used again for a stunt move known as a "kip-up," performed by Walker.
The Ghost character, also known as Ava Starr and portrayed by Hannah John-Kamen, presented another challenge. Although her signature phasing ability had been featured in earlier Marvel projects, the VFX team was tasked with reimagining the effect across more than 20 shots, with compositors carefully crafting a fresh visual language to bring it to life. Originally created as an entirely-2D solution, the team incorporated custom animation and lighting, resulting in a more polished and elevated look.
During the vault fight between Ghost and Taskmaster, the production team used a classic “Texas switch” technique to simulate Ghost’s phasing ability, swapping performers mid-shot to achieve an in-camera illusion. To enhance this effect, Digital Domain blended two separate takes and digitally removed one of the actors to sell the transition. The team motion-tracked the plate and created offset performances, called “leaves,” which were rendered with varying shutter angles to produce a streaking phasing effect. The practical actor was removed and then composited back in, mixed with the leaves and motion-blurred passes. The team enhanced the final look with elements such as chromatic aberration.
As the vault sequence reaches its climax, the characters realize they’ve been lured into a massive incinerator. Digital Domain handled the environmental effects, adding CG fire and explosions, environmental debris and simulated pressure reactions to create a dramatic escape sequence. In the final moments, the team escapes just in time, avoiding the full force of the blast.
The VFX team also crafted Taskmaster’s explosive arrow, which went through multiple iterations and simulations to strike the right balance. Another set piece featured the team scaling a narrow elevator shaft using a cable rig that allowed all four actors to climb back-to-back. Digital Domain removed the rigging and extended the practical shaft into a vertical void. The team also created a CG replacement for Bob Reynolds (Sentry) to better match the action in the scene, which required detailed hair and cloth simulations to ensure a seamless integration with the live-action footage.
Additional highlights included building the Cryo Case used to store Bob, developed by the studio's asset department based on previs provided by production. The team also contributed to the surreal sequence inside Bob’s mind, where the characters step into a closet and emerge in a different dimension with Meth Chicken.