Like any other Marvel movie, Thunderbolts is all about fighting and risking life, but no one quite expected the first major death in the movie to happen that soon.

Initially introduced in 2021’s Black Widow, Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster was nowhere to be found until Thunderbolts, serving as a primary antagonist who boasts of a unique ability to mimic fighting styles.

Despite many fans believing that Marvel is yet to expand Taskmaster’s storyline with more background story details, the character was brutally killed off in Thunderbolts’ first part.

However, the movie’s director sees Taskmaster’s disheartening fate as an important message for all other MCU characters rather than just a usual shocker.

Jake Schreier ‘Thunderbolts’ Script Was “a Little Bloodless” Without Taskmaster’s Death

In the movie, Taskmaster’s death happens quite early during a chaotic fight in an underground bunker where Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost shoots the former right in the head.

The plot twist was a major shocker, considering that Taskmaster was a pretty big part of the movie’s marketing campaign; however, it might be that things got out of control due to some major events in the industry as well.

“It was something that happened after the strike, when we were redeveloping the script. I know that there are people that have reached out to let me know that they’re displeased with this, and I totally understand that. It’s not something we did lightly”, Thunderbolts’ director Jake Schreier revealed in an interview with Variety recently, referring to the fact that initially Taskmaster was supposed to stay in action for way longer.

He also added that the character’s death might be serving as some kind of a reminder for everyone that, no matter what their abilities are, every single character in the MCU can still die just as unexpectedly.

“As we looked at the script and tried to do a new version, it was a little bloodless. In order to honor these characters and what they do, being contract killers … to have that movie take place with no one showing what that means didn’t really feel like it would land with as much impact. We considered all versions of it”, Schreier said.

Olga Kurylenko Regrets Marvel Losing “the One With the Best Look”

Ahead of the movie’s premiere back in May, the actress broke her silence on the matter, explaining that the 2023 Hollywood strikes forced Thunderbolts’ creators to completely reshape the entire story and the movie’s script, the original version of which kept Taskmaster alive until the very end.

However, it wasn’t only Kurylenko who lamented Marvel’s decision in the end as the production team shared the actress’ feelings over Taskmaster.

“It's especially that everyone, even the costume designers, said, 'Oh my, she's our favorite character in terms of costumes, because she's the one with the best look.' My costume is the best”, Kurylenko revealed in an interview with Diverto.