I’m So Worried One Brutal MCU Death Theory Is Absolutely True For Thunderbolts*

Having seen the trailers for Thunderbolts*, and the theories about team members dying, it definitely feels like one character won"t make it very far in the film. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)"s Phase 5 is set to go out with a bang when the Thunderbolts* arrive on the big screen in May 2025. However, this team of misfits are clearly struggling to find a way to work together, or even a reason why they should all collaborate.
Where the Avengers was formed of a group of powerful heroes, there may have been tension, but everyone on the team had their hearts in the right place. The same cannot be said for the people set to join the Thunderbolts. A group of struggling, wannabe heroes, who generally have more of an interest in pursuing their own success and wealth instead of fighting for the greater good. But with such a disjointed team, it opens the door to fatal mistakes, and the potential loss of a hero that could finally lead them to become a darker version of those original Avengers.
Taskmaster Dying In Thunderbolts* Seems More & More Likely Taskmaster Won't Survive The Thunderbolts* Close While Bucky Barnes is the most familiar face in the Thunderbolts* lineup, almost all the other characters have had a decent level of development. So, it makes sense for the more familiar characters to have more face time in the trailer, but it does feel like Taskmaster is missing from a disproportionate number of scenes. Taskmaster was an secondary antagonist shrouded in mystery in the Black Widow movie, but now, the character appears to be missing in action.

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In fact, outside what is effectively two scenes, Taskmaster is not seen with the rest of the team at all. With that in mind, I feel pretty safe in the assumption that Taskmaster does not make it far after the character is recruited to the team. Whether she gets captured early on, killed, or simply decides to walk away, the character is absent, and it makes a lot of sense for the character to be killed off, even outside the trailer.
Thunderbolts* May Need At Least One Main Character To Die To Keep Its Stakes High And Turn The Thunderbolts Into The Dark Avengers Close One aspect about the Thunderbolts* that continues to be hinted at from Feige and other Marvel Studios officials is the fact that the asterisk in Thunderbolts* means something important. The prevailing theory suggests that the film is being set up as the origin for the Dark Avengers, but the studio wants to avoid putting the Avengers label on something that is so different for fear of misleading the fans into thinking the big heroes are going to show up.
Your browser does not support the video tag. It would make a lot of sense for the Thunderbolts to form a Dark Avengers team, considering overlap with comic book storylines, but in order to truly make them Avengers, they need something to avenge. For the original team, they adopted this name when Phil Coulson was killed, and as a result, they decided to avenge his death, and protect the world. And if the death is particularly gruesome, such as Sentry tearing Taskmaster apart as one user of X, formerly Twitter, has suggested, it"s even more likely to motivate the remaining heroes to fight together.
Killing Off Taskmaster Would Be A Waste, But The MCU Might Need To It Might Be The Only Way To Bring The Thunderbolts Together Close Taskmaster has a lot of potential, and despite only appearing in one film previous to Thunderbolts*, their skills and strengths have yet to be fully explored. In the comics, the character is a remarkable master combatant, who can mimic anyone"s fighting style, and master any weapon. This would clearly be a huge asset to the team, but their death could be more vital than their life for the future of these wannabe heroes. Especially if it opens the door for the team to become the Dark Avengers. With a meaningful sacrifice, and something to fight for, it could unite the team, and help them to see themselves as heroes.

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The thing with superhero movies is, it"s rare that everyone lives, and no one gets hurt along the way. And I think that this is especially likely to be the case in a movie about failed heroes and flawed powered people. If Taskmaster were captured, it could get the team to band together for a while, but her death would likely ensure their continued efforts to fight against the forces that they deem to be evil, or corrupt. Ultimately, I think Taskmaster is likely to die in Thunderbolts*, but I think that could also be pivotal to the team"s growth and future in the MCU.

Thunderbolts* Not Yet Rated AdventureAction Marvel's Thunderbolts* is a superhero movie based on the comic team of the same name. The movie acts as a part of the MCU's fifth phase of films. The film sees the likes of Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell, the Red Guardian, and more as an unlikely group of heroes and villains brought together to fight for good.
Director Jake Schreier Release Date May 2, 2025 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Writers Lee Sung-jin , Eric Pearson , Joanna Calo Cast Florence Pugh , Sebastian Stan , David Harbour , Wyatt Russell , Olga Kurylenko , Hannah John-Kamen , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Geraldine Viswanathan , Lewis Pullman , Joshua Mikel Character(s) Yelena Belova , James Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier , Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian , John Walker / U.S. Agent , Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster , Ava Starr / Ghost , Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine , Mel , Bob / Robert Reynolds / The Sentry , Bob's Dad Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Budget $200 million Main Genre Action Expand Upcoming MCU Movies