Is Taskmaster Doomed? Clues Point to Major Character Death in Thunderbolts!

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After the premiere of “Captain America: Brave New World” on Friday, “Thunderbolts” is set to be released in early May as the next Marvel movie. The first trailer for it came out in September, and over the weekend, fans of the MCU were given a sneak peek with the “Thunderbolts” Super Bowl trailer. While many are excited about the strong suggestions that Sentry might serve as the main antagonist, after watching both previews multiple times, I’m fairly certain I can predict which character from the team named in the title will meet their end and approximately when this event will occur.

In the 36th Marvel movie, titled “The Thunderbolts,” the cast includes Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Hannah Jonh-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster, with Julia Louis Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and Lewis Pullman as Bob playing significant roles. I’d like to discuss Taskmaster, a character who made her first appearance in the 2021 film “Black Widow” (available on Disney+ if you need to catch up on her background). Unfortunately, it seems that she may meet her end in “The Thunderbolts.”

*Please note that the title of the movie is “Thunderbolts,” not “Taskmaster.

Why I Think Taskmaster Will Die In Thunderbolts*

In this context, Taskmaster is the main character from the Thunderbolts team who has received minimal focus in early promotions. I strongly believe that this is because she will have limited screen time. Here’s my explanation for why I think so: after these characters’ paths cross in a series of intense encounters involving gunfire, alarms, and physical combat, the entire group will move to what was previously Avengers Tower, now owned by Valentina (presumably she acquired Tony Stark’s former headquarters for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes following the events depicted in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever).

In contrast, this is one of the rare instances where Taskmaster appears alongside her teammates in these previews, while the other team scenes predominantly focus on the other five characters. This brings to mind Adam Beach’s character Slipknot, who was scarcely featured in the previews for the 2016 DCEU film Suicide Squad. As it transpired, the character met his demise at the outset of the mission after attempting an escape and Rick Flag Jr. detonated the nanite bomb in his head to demonstrate that defying orders comes with fatal repercussions. Although I suspect Taskmaster will have a more significant role in Thunderbolts than Slipknot had in Suicide Squad, my observation remains valid.

It’s not just me who has this theory – many fans have been discussing it for months. While my colleague Sean O’Connell presented his argument last November as to why he believes this is a red herring, I now find myself leaning towards the idea that Taskmaster will meet her end in Thunderbolts. The recent Super Bowl trailer seems to suggest a more definitive outcome in this regard.

How I Think Taskmaster Will Die In Thunderbolts*

It’s strongly suggested, though not yet officially confirmed by Marvel Studios, that Sentry could potentially serve as the primary antagonist in the upcoming Thunderbolts series. Similar to his comic book counterpart, it seems that Lewis Pullman’s portrayal of Bob possesses a darker alter-ego known as The Void. This villainous character is suspected to be behind the attack on what appears to be a stand-in for the Avengers Tower, depicted in the Super Bowl trailer.

As a recap for those following along, Taskmaster and his team are seen meeting with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, a character we’ll learn more about soon. The rest of the team members – Yelena, Bucky, John, Alexei, and Ava – manage to escape the assault, though they’re left battered and bruised. However, Antonia, another member of the team, is conspicuously absent following this attack, as indicated by the image below.

In the upcoming film “Thunderbolts,” it’s uncertain exactly how the character will meet her end, but given that The Void is expected to cause destruction in a building, it seems likely that Taskmaster may perish. Although she played a role as more of a weapon than a fully developed character in “Black Widow,” and considering the limited screen time she’s likely to have in this movie, it might not evoke a strong emotional response if she were to be written out of the story… or at least that’s my assumption.

Perhaps if Antonia had been featured in additional films or one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s series, I might have formed a stronger bond with her character. However, despite her heart-wrenching past, that emotional attachment remains elusive. It seems that her demise may serve as the impetus for the remaining protagonists to unite, much like how Phil Coulson’s death sparked The Avengers into teaming up in The Avengers.

More Thunderbolts* Coverage

After Thunderbolts* Dropped Its Super Bowl Ad, A Lot Of Fans Are Making The Same Comment

Sebastian Stan Recently Likened His Forthcoming Marvel Production to a Brat Pack Film, Catching Me Off Guard with the Comparison.

frankly speaking, it’s disappointing that Taskmaster in the movie version of Black Widow deviates so significantly from the comics character. Despite my initial disappointment, I was intrigued to see how Antonia Dreykov would differentiate herself from Tony Masters’ version since they only share a muscle memory ability and mask resembling a skull. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that this will happen, but I hope I’m wrong. It’s possible that Sean is correct and Antonia will reject Valentina’s offer and leave before Bob/Sentry/The Void arrive, but I have my doubts about that.

In two days, we’ll discover if my theory holds true upon the release of Thunderbolts on May 2. The film boasts a star-studded cast with Laurence Fishburne portraying Bill Foster, Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff, Geraldine Viswanathan as Mel, and Wendell Pierce and Chris Bauer in yet unspecified roles. Jake Schreier directs the movie, while Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo contributed to the script. Meanwhile, delve into TopMob’s Captain America: Brave New World review to get insights from other critics about this weekend’s Marvel offering.

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2025-02-15 21:38