MCU boss explains why they really killed off hit character

Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier has opened up on his decision to kill off a key character in the movie.

Featuring the likes of Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, and John Walker, Thunderbolts*’s cast was a particularly big stand out in why it was such a well-liked Marvel film. But one member of the team’s marketed lineup did not make it through to the end credits.

Naturally, we’ll put up a spoiler warning here for Thunderbolts*. It’s a really good MCU film, so we’d recommend watching it first before reading about what happens.

Early on in the film, before the titular Thunderbolts even form as a group, Taskmaster is shown to be apparently killed off by Ghost. In hindsight, you could kind of see it coming, but it was still a bit shocking how sudden it all was.

Originally appearing as the villain in 2021’s Black Widow, the film ended with Taskmaster’s brainwashing seemingly undone, able to start a new life free of the Red Room.

In an interview with Screen Rant, director Jake Schreier has opened up how script changes led to Taskmaster being killed off.

“I think that, as we were doing that development, looking at the movie that we had been about to make before the strike, and trying to make it even better, we felt that the movie felt a little bloodless - a movie about people who kill others for a living and don't think anything of it,” Schreier told Screen Rant’s Joe Deckelmeier.

“To not have that represented or happen felt like we weren't really paying off what we were saying about these characters.

“Obviously, it's no small thing to get rid of a character like that, that's important to people, and Olga [Kurylenko is] a wonderful actress. We just felt - especially given that the team had been announced - that we couldn't just bring a new character into it and then off them, and that wouldn't have quite the significance of doing what we did.

“And we felt that there was value in seeing the way they perform their duties currently, and then also hoping that, for the audience, it means, ‘Well, if they can do that, they could do anything.’”

Schreier then goes on to explain how this moment brings “a certain level of tension that it brought to the movie going forward, and also an emotional resonance.”

I remember when I first saw the film, Taskmaster’s death felt rather shocking considering how much Olga Kurylenko had been promoted as part of the main cast. It then made me realise that the other characters could have been offed in the same way.

It’s made me look forward to my next rewatch of Thunderbolts*, which could be pretty soon. The film is already out on digital, and is coming to 4K UHD, Blu-Ray and DVD on 29th July. With that in mind, it should be hitting Disney Plus sometime in August.