Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* #NewAvengers throws audiences into the MCU’s darkest corner yet; brought to life by the meticulous 3D Immersive VFX craftsmanship of SDFX Studios. This antihero team-up follows Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) as they’re forced into a high-stakes mission by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Their target; Robert Reynolds, a dangerously unstable superpowered being whose fractured psyche manifests as both the immensely powerful Sentry and his dark counterpart, the Void (played by Lewis Pullman). As the New Avengers confront their own demons, the 3D experience pulls viewers deeper into their gritty, broken world.
At the helm of that visual experience is Stereo Supervisor Jason Bomstein, who led the charge in crafting a stereoscopic language grounded in emotional realism. Working closely with Marvel Studios’ Emma Webb and her team, Bomstein shaped a 3D aesthetic that never distracts—but always deepens. “Because the environments are familiar, grounded, and realistic, the 3D had to be nearly invisible in its execution,” he explained. “Good 3D, like good VFX, should serve the story and go unnoticed until it hits you emotionally.”
One of Bomstein’s standout achievements comes during a pivotal confrontation inside a dramatically reimagined Avengers Tower. As the team faces off against Sentry for the first time, chaos unfolds in long, fluid shots where characters are flung through windows and teleport across the space. “You want to feel them traveling through the environment,” Bomstein said. “That’s what makes the 3D immersive, not gimmicky.” With its dynamic depth and spatial intensity, the sequence exemplifies how 3D can enhance tension, disorientation, and narrative stakes.
While Bomstein established the film’s stereoscopic vision, he was supported by SDFX’s Augmentation VFX team, led by Alexander Heffner. Heffner’s team specializes in translating complex, transparent elements like smoke, reflections, and particle effects into 3D space—an effort that subtly reinforced Bomstein’s grounded approach. “Smoke is often a story point,” Heffner noted. “We made sure it felt present and dimensional, so it didn’t just look good—it felt right.”
That collaborative precision shines in another early moment when the team first encounters Sentry. Layers of mist and ambient effects build a spatial atmosphere that feels tactile and unnerving. Later, in a quieter scene between Florence Pugh’s and David Harbour’s characters, Bomstein used stereo to bring emotional depth into focus. “Even when backgrounds are soft, 3D lets the character step slightly forward,” he said. “That separation makes the emotion more immediate, more intimate.”
That collaborative precision shines in another early moment when the team first encounters Sentry. Layers of mist and ambient effects build a spatial atmosphere that feels tactile and unnerving. Later, in a quieter scene between Florence Pugh’s and David Harbour’s characters, Bomstein used stereo to bring emotional depth into focus. “Even when backgrounds are soft, 3D lets the character step slightly forward,” he said. “That separation makes the emotion more immediate, more intimate.”
Though Marvel maintains a consistent baseline for 3D across its films, Thunderbolts* #NewAvengers gave Bomstein room to innovate within that framework. “SDFX Studios has been working on Marvel films for a long time—almost since the beginning,” he said. “I’ve been stereographing these projects since 2018, and Thunderbolts* gave us a chance to push things further—emotionally, technically, and tonally.”
SDFX Studios continues to push the boundaries of immersive visual storytelling—delivering not just depth, but meaning, one frame at a time.
Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* #NewAvengers is now playing in theaters. For the full immersive impact, experience it in 3D.