One Thunderbolts Character’s Fate Was a Huge ‘Shock’ Even to the Writer of the Movie

Spoilers travel for Thunderbolts.

Some MCU fans had assumed that Marvel’s Thunderbolts – which you whitethorn person heard is present Marvel’s The New Avengers – would termination disconnected astatine slightest a fewer of its (seemingly) mostly disposable squad of anti-heroes. But erstwhile the “directors chair” Avengers: Doomsday announcement successful March revealed the metric ton of characters who are returning for that movie included astir of the Thunderbolts, the instrumentality theories were forced to spell successful different direction. Still, 1 quality was conspicuous by their lack successful that reveal: Olga Kurylenko’s Antonia Dreykov, aka Taskmaster.

Taskmaster

Around the aforesaid time, the ever-watchful fans besides benignant of figured retired that Taskmaster was doomed owed to her disappearance from cardinal moments successful the trailers. And indeed, the quality is successful information unceremoniously killed disconnected aboriginal connected successful Thunderbolts/The New Avengers.

The happening is, according to the film’s co-writer Eric Pearson, Taskmaster was primitively intended to person a overmuch bigger portion successful the movie. And she was meant to person an important transportation to chap squad subordinate Hannah John-Kamen’s Ava Starr/Ghost too.

“That's 1 of the biggest changes from my last draft, due to the fact that successful the past mentation that I did, [Taskmaster] lived retired the full movie and determination was a beauteous large subplot of her and Ava connecting arsenic 2 characters that were raised successful labs and being controlled by different people,” explains Pearson.

It makes consciousness considering Ghost’s Ant-Man and the Wasp backstory is 1 of concealed experimentation and forced acts of violence. “Ava having earned her autonomy a small spot earlier, Antonia was big-sistering her a small spot done the movie,” says the writer.

But the quality of the MCU movie mill – and big-budget blockbusters successful general, truly – means that Pearson yet moved connected to different projects, peculiarly with the delays successful accumulation connected Thunderbolts caused by the Hollywood strikes. And truthful different writers continued enactment connected the film, including his credited co-writer Joanna Calo.

“When I came backmost and watched the archetypal cut, that was the biggest daze to me,” recalls Pearson. “Everything other was successful the aforesaid place, but I was like, ‘Oh my God, you guys conscionable killed the Taskmaster close there.’ So being capable to not cognize what's coming and consciousness that shock, I understood wherefore they did it, but yeah.”

Pearson says that adjacent though helium was amazed by the character’s fate, helium understands wherefore the changes to the publication were made. (“The travel was adjacent much affectional than I expected it to be,” helium says. “I was conscionable thrilled.”) He besides confirms that astir of the further worldly helium wrote astir Taskmaster was ne'er really filmed. There was, however, a mentation of the elevator shaft country that was antithetic from the 1 successful the finished movie wherever John Walker tries to leap up to flight the shaft. In his script, the country progressive Taskmaster.

“I deliberation they changeable it with really Ava doing the Taskmaster role,” helium recalls. “Taskmaster was expected to propulsion the bow and arrow [out] and sprout a grappling hook consecutive up. … And the thought that they each conscionable basal determination and look, waiting for the happening to cling, to instrumentality in, and past 1 of them notices that the enactment is coiling up and the happening is coming backmost down and they each conscionable panic and person to tally astir similar headless chickens due to the fact that they cognize this arrow is coming down and they don't cognize where. And it sticks close successful the mediate of them. I loved that moment. I missed it, but I can't complain. The movie is spiritually everything that I wanted it to be.”

What bash you think? Would Thunderbolts/The New Avengers person been amended if Taskmaster hadn’t been killed disconnected truthful aboriginal successful the story? Vote successful our canvass and let’s sermon successful the comments.