Warning: SPOILERS for Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts* is one of Marvel Studios’ best-received films in recent memory, largely trading in an epic scale of destruction for a character-focused story that finally gives some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best-known antiheroes their true time to shine. It also introduced The Sentry, The Void, and Bob, all rolled into one package and played by Top Gun: Maverick’s Lewis Pullman. Although it came with big implications for the MCU’s future (the team is slated to return in Avengers: Doomsday), Thunderbolts* avoided the trap of seeming to exist solely for larger franchise setup purposes.
For much of this, plus the great Thunderbolts* reviews audiences have director Jake Schreier to thank. Working from scripts by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo, Schreier juggled the warring personalities of the volatile Thunderbolts team and made big decisions that included a rare instance of killing off one of the MCU’s known quanтιтies. The director also worked to make the emotional climax of Thunderbolts* as effective as its spectacle.
ScreenRant’s Joe Deckelmeier spoke with Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier in celebration of the movie’s home release. Schreier discussed the choice to kill Taskmaster in a first-act surprise, how the movie touches on mental health themes, and how he approached the sheer power of a character like The Sentry/The Void. Plus, Schreier, Marvel’s rumored choice to direct the MCU’s first X-Men movie, played suspiciously mum when asked about that property.
How Sentry/Void Became Tied To The Emotional Themes Of Thunderbolts*
“That Was Our Challenge”
Thunderbolts* stands apart from the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe in many ways, but especially in its deeply moving and emotional climax. Bob’s transformation into The Void, a dark enтιтy that transports everyone it touches into the most haunted moments of their past, made the movie immediately relatable from a mental health standpoint. “Every now and then, people will pull me aside, or they’ll say, ‘I really relate to Bob,’” Shreier revealed, adding, “or people will hit me up saying that when they were going through a hard time, things felt the way it felt for the characters in the movie.”
“I think, if you’re going to tackle a subject like that, you want to do it with sensitivity.”
“More than anything,” the director said, “you don’t want to make it reductive because even if we don’t put a name on it–which I would prefer not to–I think they’re real issues that we have all gone through at some point in our lives … I know that [for] everyone involved, certainly for Lewis and Florence and all our actors, it was just as important to them to try to portray these feelings in a way that felt honest.”
That approach to the finale of Thunderbolts*–one in which empathy, not ability, saved the day– was the plan “from the moment that it became a movie with Sentry/The Void in it.” Audiences picked up on the issues with introducing that character right away, Schreier said: “People were saying, when the trailers came out, ‘What the heck are they going to do against a guy like that?’ That was our challenge too.”
“There is no earthbound level on which they’re going to defeat a character like that, but on the other hand, that character was never meant to function in that way.”
“It was always a parable for mental health,” Schreier said, “and we talked to Paul Jenkins and wanted to make sure that it honored that. Then, it just becomes this very, very careful set of building blocks from the moment the character’s introduced–building a relationship between him and Yelena, but also him and the entire team, and all the ways in which they relate to the central issue that is going to determine Bob’s fate and thus the world’s fate.”
Still, Schreier credited producer Brian Chapek with suggesting that the team actually entered the Void. It ended up being a great way to counter the action-heavy moments before it, the director said: “Okay, we’ve been out in New York, a crane has fallen, citizens have been saved. We [had] to show that we can execute on this level of a more traditional comic book film, but then with this character, there is no simple resolution of that in that context. So, what is a whole other turn we can take to resolve it on that emotional level?”
The director also revealed that audiences could have been treated to a glimpse inside the dark pasts of other Thunderbolts–at least, if it wouldn’t have taken away from the story. “We would’ve loved to,” he said, responding to the idea, “If you can imagine an Alexei shame room, there are a lot of darkly fun ways that could go. And Bucky–we tried a ton of different versions of how that worked.”
“In the end, structurally, it became more important to find their way out through Bob and through his history.”
“Because of that,” Schreier added, “it didn’t really allow us the space. Certain other characters, like Bucky, don’t meet Bob until the end, [so] we didn’t have the room to show their void rooms. But we would’ve loved to. When people watch movies, [they] think, ‘Well, they should have done this and done that, and I promise you, we considered all of it. There is a very delicate structural balance that you have to find to make things work and keep it moving, and this is what we felt was the strongest for that.”
Jake Schreier Explains Taskmaster’s First-Act Death
“The Movie Felt A Little Bloodless”
Thunderbolts* started with a bang–literally, as Black Widow antagonist Taskmaster is sH๏τ in the head by Ava Starr, aka Ghost. While the movie’s marketing hinted at the idea that Taskmaster may not be a major player throughout, the cold-blooded kill still came as a surprise. And, despite some theories circling the internet, the moment was not a last-minute change, said Jake Schreier: “Just to be clear, it’s not a late add for reshoots,” he said.
But the story of Thunderbolts* did change quite a bit over the course of its development. “Once we came out of the strike–and we hadn’t sH๏τ anything before the strike–we redeveloped the script for, I think, five months,” Schreier revealed, continuing, “so it happened then. It’s not as though we sH๏τ a movie and then changed it. It was in the shooting script; it’s just [that] there had been shooting scripts where that didn’t happen.”
The director explained the choice by sharing that as the screenplay was being examined and refined, “we felt that the movie felt a little bloodless,” which is not ideal for “a movie about people who kill others for a living and don’t think anything of it.” “To not have that represented or happen,” Schreier said, “felt like we weren’t really paying off what we were saying about these characters.”
Schreier knew it was a big decision. “It’s no small thing to get rid of a character like that, that’s important to people,” he said, “and Olga’s 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 the significance of doing what we did. And we felt that there was value in seeing the way they perform their duties currently, and also hoping that, for the audience, it means, ‘If they can do that, they could do anything.’”
Taskmaster specifically was chosen in large part because of Yelena’s place at the heart of the story. “There is this slight relationship that Yelena has to her from Black Widow … there is a connection, and [we felt] that would give it more emotional resonance than if it were anyone else.”
“It was not done lightly, is all that I can say.”
Jake Schreier Doesn’t Know What’s Next For The Thunderbolts
“I … [Have] To Sit Back And Watch Where This All Goes”
The Thunderbolts, aka New Avengers, will return in Avengers: Doomsday–a return which was announced even before Jake Schreier’s movie hit theaters. But the Thunderbolts* director insisted he didn’t know much more than your average fan when it comes to what will happen in the film. “As a fan, I think we get to watch them pretty darn soon,” he said, continuing, “I, like everyone else, [have] to sit back and watch where this all goes in these mᴀssive Avengers films, see what happens, and see where things sit after that.”
“I have no inside info,” the director said, although he did share that he’s “checked in with all of them as shooting has started,” and said “they’re all having a great time … they’re all such interesting characters, and I can’t wait to see what they do with them.”
Man-Thing Wasn’t Really Almost In Thunderbolts*
“I’ve Got To Be Careful About What I Say In These Interviews”
In October of 2022, the Marvel television special Werewolf by Night (directed by longtime franchise composer Michael Giacchino), introduced audiences to Man-Thing, a humanoid swamp monster and fan-favorite Marvel Comics character. And, according to a swirling rumor, Schreier really wanted Man-Thing to appear in Thunderbolts* as well. When asked about it, though, Schreier said “This is why I’ve got to be careful about what I say in these interviews.”
“It is true that, when I was pitching on the movie before I was the director of it … I did say that it would be fun if Man-Thing were in it. But I was unaware of Werewolf by Night, and this was before Sentry was in the movie. So, once that became a part of it, we never looked back. I let Man-Thing go pretty quickly. It is accurate that I brought it up, but I didn’t mean for it to be such a [thing]–it’s funny the way these things get out there.”
“But, I mean, who doesn’t love Man-Thing?”
Don’t Ask Jake Schreier About X-Men
“I’ve Got To Plead The Fifth”
Hollywood trades like ᴅᴇᴀᴅline and Variety have reported that Schreier is in talks to helm the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first proper X-Men movie. But don’t ask him about it just yet, or he will probably tell you what he told us: “I’ve got to plead the fifth on this one … I’m so sorry. I’ve got to.” When asked an easier question–which X-Men character is his favorite–Schreier doubled down. “I’m going to leave the X-Men questions untouched for now, if that’s okay.”
Thunderbolts* is available now on digital platforms.
