SPOILERS are ahead for Thunderbolts*.
While Thunderbolts* is already going down in history as one of the best new Marvel movies in recent years, a lot of fans have been talking about one twist that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. After Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster was marketed to be part of the movie’s core team, she was killed off in the first scene we saw her in. Now, director Jake Schreier has shared his take on her fate in the film.
During a new interview, the Thunderbolts* director was asked about if there was ever a version of the movie where Taskmaster stuck around longer than she does in the final version. Here’s how he responded to Variety:
Yeah, I think Olga has spoken about that. It was something that happened after the strike, when we were redeveloping the script. I know that there are people that have reached out to let me know that they’re displeased with this, and I totally understand that. It’s not something we did lightly.
Yes, Kurylenko previously shared earlier this month that in a previous version of the Thunderbolts* script, Taskmaster was there through to the end, along with noting that “it’s a pity” that the character had to meet her end so soon in the 2025 movie release. Schreier is very aware that some fans were not happy about the choice, especially considering, as CinemaBlend’s own Mike Reyes has pointed out, there was “ultimately no stakes behind her death.”
It's perhaps even more of a sad twist because Thunderbolts* ended up being named the New Avengers at the end of the movie, and are set to join the main superhero team in the upcoming Avengers films. As the director continued to Variety:
As we looked at the script and tried to do a new version, it was a little bloodless. In order to honor these characters and what they do, being contract killers … to have that movie take place with no one showing what that means didn’t really feel like it would land with as much impact. We considered all versions of it.
While revising the script, Jake Schreier noted that they felt like someone needed to die given each of them are contract killers, and the decision was made for it to be Taskmaster. It was a twist that some people saw coming after the Thunderbolts* Super Bowl trailer and after she was left out of some toy product lines. The director also said this:
Obviously, I think Olga is a wonderful actress. It’s a hard thing to do. It’s just showing that, for these characters, this is a thing that’s done, and they feel that all of their lives don’t have a ton of value.
Clearly it wasn’t an easy decision to make for Jake Schreier, but the filmmaker has to stand by it. It sadly means Taskmaster won’t be part of the Avengers: Doomsday cast alongside the other cast members from Thunderbolts*, but we are in the Multiverse Saga, so it’s always possible another version of the character could pop up – though it does feel unlikely.
Following the release of Thunderbolts* in May, the next Marvel movie is here this weekend with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Jake Schreier has also been tapped to direct MCU’s first X-Men movie.
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