Marvel Studios’ newest Thunderbolts* updates have made me certain that one formidable character set to return in the upcoming MCU crossover movie will unfortunately meet her end. Excitement has been rising for Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* in recent months, and now that the movie is only a month away from hitting theaters, story details for the Phase 5 movie have started to become clearer. Several antiheroes and reformed villains from the MCU’s history will be coming together as the Thunderbolts team, but one member might not make it out of the movie alive.

The cast of Thunderbolts* was confirmed by Marvel boss Kevin Feige back in 2022, revealing that Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Sebastian Stan and Olga Kurylenko will all be reprising their past MCU roles. This team was initially controversial, but recent teasers, trailers and promotional material have raised anticipation for Thunderbolts*. Unfortunately, I don’t think every member of the тιтular team will be done justice, and I think Marvel itself might have just supported the theory that Taskmaster will die in Thunderbolts*.

Why I Think Taskmaster Will Die In Thunderbolts*

Antonia Dreykov’s Status In Thunderbolts* Is A Mystery

Taskmaster was first introduced to the MCU in 2021’s Black Widow, but the live-action version of this mimicking Marvel villain is not the Tony Masters iteration, but an elite Black Widow ᴀssᴀssin instead. In fact, Taskmaster was revealed to be the long-thought-ᴅᴇᴀᴅ daughter of Red Room leader General Dreykov, Olga Kurylenko’s Antonia Dreykov. Dreykov transformed his daughter into the mind-controlled Taskmaster after Natasha Romanoff’s attempt on his life, but Romanoff and Yelena Belova rectified past mistakes in Black Widow by freeing Antonia and killing her father.

Antonia Dreykov’s return in Thunderbolts* had the opportunity to develop her character much more and make her more likable, perhaps even allowing audiences to accept her as Taskmaster instead of Masters. However, Taskmaster has only briefly been seen in trailers for Thunderbolts*, and only ever in her mask, with Olga Kurylenko herself never showing her face. Kurylenko’s absence from promotional material for Thunderbolts* has informed the theory that Taskmaster won’t survive the movie’s intense events, and I think Marvel might have just confirmed this itself.

Thunderbolts*’ Newest Teaser Supports Taskmaster’s Death Theory

One Thunderbolts* Scene Has Been Changed In A New Teaser

In the recent teaser trailer for Thunderbolts* тιтled Absolute Cinema, every member of the тιтular team is mentioned, including Yelena, Red Guardian, Walker, Ghost, Bob and Winter Soldier, but Taskmaster’s name is nowhere to be seen. The Black Widow villain also doesn’t make a physical appearance in the teaser, and Marvel Studios has now gone to the extent of even editing Taskmaster out of a notable Thunderbolts* scene. In previous trailers, Taskmaster joined the Thunderbolts when approaching Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the former Avengers Tower, but this is no longer the case.

In a new teaser for Thunderbolts*, Taskmaster has been removed from this line-up moment, suggesting that she was never included in this scene at all, and had in fact been edited in earlier on to throw audiences off the scent. It seems likely that this scene occurs later in the movie, after the Thunderbolts have already formed, so her removal from this scene implies that she may die much earlier in the movie. This could perhaps even happen during the Thunderbolts’ first meeting at the secret OXE facility, or maybe during battle with Lewis Pullman’s Sentry, Thunderbolts* primary antagonist.

Avengers: Doomsday’s Cast Reveal Omitting 1 Thunderbolts* Actor Makes Taskmaster’s Death Seem Unavoidable

Olga Kurylenko May Not Be Joining Her Thunderbolts* Castmates In Phase 6

Marvel Studios revealed the first 27 actors confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday at the end of March, including almost every member of the Thunderbolts team. This put to rest theories that Bucky Barnes or someone else could die in Thunderbolts*, and suggested that the team will somehow talk down Lewis Pullman’s extremely powerful villain, as Pullman has been confirmed to return. However, Olga Kurylenko’s name was not mentioned in Marvel’s chair-laying ceremony, making me even more sure Antonia Dreykov’s Taskmaster won’t survive 2025’s Thunderbolts*.

It’s very possible that Marvel Studios may have been paying attention to theories regarding Taskmaster’s death in Thunderbolts*, and could be introducing red herrings to throw us off. Taskmaster’s lack of action and now omission from Thunderbolts*’ trailers could be hiding Antonia Dreykov’s actual role in the movie, and Olga Kurylenko could be confirmed for an Avengers: Doomsday role at a later date, perhaps with other missing MCU actors. All will be revealed very soon as Thunderbolts* is scheduled for release on May 2, 2025, but chances are Taskmaster won’t be very lucky.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

  Release Date

  
  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

  Release Date

  
  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Spider-Man: Brand New Day

  Release Date

  
  July 31, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date

  
  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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