Thunderbolts* Star Confirms Marvel Made a Shocking Change to the MCU Movie

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This article may reveal plot details about the Thunderbolts*, which is now accessible for home streaming in 2021. In Black Widow, released this year, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), a former Red Room assassin, referred to Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko) as “collateral damage.” Believed to have perished in a Budapest bombing during her defection to S.H.I.E.L.D., Antonia was actually the chip-controlled cyborg that Dreykov dispatched as his “Taskmaster Protocol.” This Taskmaster, capable of mimicking any fighting style she’s witnessed – from Black Widow and Hawkeye to Captain America, Winter Soldier, Black Panther, or Spider-Man – was Dreykov’s deadliest agent until Natasha and her sister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) broke her free from the brainwashing.

In the new movie, Thunderbolts, Kurylenko’s character, Taskmaster, resurfaces under the guidance of CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It was revealed that Val had sent potentially dangerous individuals – Taskmaster, Yelena, U.S. Agent, and Ghost – to a self-destructing vault, intended to eliminate her “debts.” However, before the other operatives could escape the explosion, Ghost fatally shot Taskmaster, while Bob (Lewis Pullman) managed to survive alongside them.

In a recent conversation, Kurylenko pointed out that Taskmaster suffered another setback – this time due to the Hollywood writers’ strike that halted the production of Thunderbolts in 2023.

*Thunderbolts is a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In this context, it refers to an upcoming movie or TV series, but I didn’t have specific details to include that information.

In her interview with Diverto, the French actress (originally from Ukraine) expressed that although her character appeared throughout the original script, the revised version bore no resemblance to it at all. She explained that following the production’s interruption by a strike, the entire narrative was altered – new ideas and storylines were introduced, along with changes in settings. Sadly, this meant that the unique character she had originally portrayed was no longer recognizable. It’s too bad; it was an interesting role.

As the cinephile penning these words, I’m thrilled to share an intriguing tidbit about the upcoming Marvel cinematic adventure, The Thunderbolts. The script for this film, initially penned by Eric Pearson, who masterfully crafted the storyline for Black Widow, has undergone a rework by Joanna Calo of The Bear’s renowned fame. In an earlier conversation, Eric revealed that in his original drafts, Taskmaster managed to survive and ultimately joined the team, which was later christened as the “New Avengers.” This bit of behind-the-scenes insight certainly piques my curiosity about the direction this intriguing ensemble will take!

He shared with The Hollywood Reporter that the most significant shift was Taskmaster’s sudden demise within Val’s vault. “I wasn’t able to complete this installment on set,” he said, as he was busy working on Fantastic Four [First Steps] at the time. Upon viewing the first cut, the main alteration was Taskmaster firing that shot, and it left him stunned. In his original scripts, Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster had survived throughout the film, and she had a minor plotline with Ghost (Ava) involving their shared past of growing up in labs. Ava served as a mentor to Antonia, guiding her on how to break free and assert her individuality.

Pearson went on to explain, “I think the unexpected twist was due to the audience’s genuine shock. However, everything else unfolded as I had anticipated. Director Jake Schreier mentioned that they aimed to astonish viewers, increase tension, and convey the message that ‘Danger is present; no one is safe.’ There’s a balance between portraying characters as villains and showing their good sides. To ensure we understand their wrongdoings and heartless actions, let’s maintain this balance.

Marvel Studios’ upcoming film titled “Thunderbolts* ” is now available for viewing on digital platforms and Premium Video on Demand, while the new team of Avengers will be featured in “Avengers: Doomsday” scheduled to release in the year 2026.

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2025-07-11 02:40