PHOTOSWho Dies in Marvel's 'Thunderbolts*'? MCU Character's Shocking Fate Explained
'Thunderbolts*' played a pivotal role as a critical bridge between Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phases 5 and 6.
What Is 'Thunderbolts*' About?
'Thunderbolts*' was officially released on May 2.
Marvel's Thunderbolts* offers a fitting conclusion to Phase 5 as the Marvel Cinematic Universe begins gearing up for Phase 6.
In the latest MCU film, released on May 2, Marvel Studios "assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell)."
The overview on Marvel's official website continues, "After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it's too late?"
Who Dies in 'Thunderbolts*'?
'Thunderbolts*' has one notable death.
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In Thunderbolts*, Valentina tricks Yelena, Taskmaster, Ghost and U.S. Agent into eliminating each other at a secret facility to get rid of the evidence of Project Sentry. After Ghost ultimately shoots and kills Taskmaster, the rest of the team realizes the CIA director's devious plot.
The death of Kurylenko's character had long been speculated by MCU fans, especially after the studio confirmed the Avengers: Doomsday cast in a livestream. At the time, several stars were not mentioned, including Kurylenko.
Reflecting on Taskmaster's death, director Jake Schreier explained why they wanted it to be as shocking as possible for fans and viewers.
"The decision to do it when we did it, we went through a lot of different versions of that, and we thought very carefully about it," he told Entertainment Weekly. "And it felt like, while it would've been very nice — and Olga is a wonderful actress — to have her on the team for longer, that death would've kind of reverberated a lot harder and made it harder to find our tonal balance if it had happened later in the film."
Schreider added, "And it would've occupied such a kind of more emotional space that would've stepped on what we really need to be building. And we have so little narrative real estate to do it, which is the connection between Yelena and Bob (Lewis Pullman), and the movie is really going to hinge on that. And so in order to keep our tone and to build that team together, it actually felt best, even if it feels a little cold-blooded, to have that happen early."
Despite losing Taskmaster early in the film, the director clarified the character's death served as a curveball that propelled the story forward.
What's Next After 'Thunderbolts*'?
'Thunderbolts*' is the final film of the MCU's Phase 5.
The post-credit scene of Thunderbolts* officially marks the arrival of the Fantastic Four in the MCU's primary timeline, preceding the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July.
The first film of Phase 6 stars Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing).
The next phase's other films and TV shows include Avengers: Doomsday, Spider-Man 4, Avengers: Secret Wars, Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Zombies, Wonder Man and Vision Quest.
