‘Thunderbolts*’ Star Olga Kurylenko Reveals Marvel’s Original Plans For Taskmaster
While Marvel’s Thunderbolts* was almost universally praised by critics and fans alike, the film’s treatment of one returning MCU character drew criticism.
I am, of course, talking about Taskmaster, who was portrayed by Olga Kurylenko.
Source: Marvel Studios
Taskmaster’s Story
As a quick recap, a version of Taskmaster was originally introduced in Black Widow. Unlike the character’s Marvel counterpart, the MCU’s Taskmaster was not Tony Masters, but instead Antonia Dreykov, the daughter of General Dreykov.
After being severely injured in an assassination attempt on her father, Anonia received cyber implants that not only controlled her body and mind but also gave her photographic reflexes that allowed her to mimic the fighting techniques of other individuals.
Taskmaster Helmet. Photo: Marvel
After becoming a Red Room commander, Task Master was eventually exposed to the Red Dust by Natasha Romanoff, which freed her from the mind control and restored her autonomy.
The Character Was Quickly Killed Off
By the time the character returned for Thunderbolts*, Taskmaster was serving as an assassin for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Eventually, she was betrayed by Valentine and killed by Ghost.
Photo: Marvel
Leading up to the release of Thunderbolts*, it was clear that Taskmaster would not last long in the film. As it turns out, however, that was not initially Marvel’s plan.
Taskmaster Was Originally Supposed to Live
As explained by screenwriter Eric Pearson, the original version of Thunderbolts* would have seen Taskmaster bond with Ghost, while attempting to repeatedly kill U.S. Agent because of her memory loss. At the end of the film, the former Red Room general would have then become a New Avenger.
Photo: @ImAFilmEditor
Eventually, however, director Jake Schreier decided that one of the film’s leads needed to be killed off early in the film in order to set the stakes for Thunderbolts*. Unfortunately, that lot fell to Taskmaster.
Olga Kurylenko Recalls Her ‘Thunderbolts*’ Experience
In a recent interview translated by @Miranes2310, Kurylenko revealed that she moved her family to Atlanta for five months to film Thunderbolts*, only for the SAG-AFTRA strike to delay production.
Photo: NYLON
“Actually, we were unlucky because we started shooting this film when the strike happened. So, basically, we brought all our stuff with us. I took my son out of school, we moved to Atlanta for five months, rented a house and everything. And all of a sudden, two weeks later, they say, ‘You’re going home because there’s a strike and we don’t know when it’s going to end,” she explained.
The Change
When production on Thunderbolts* resumed, the script had been changed, and Taskmaster was killed off early in the film.
“But suddenly, in the first script, my character was… She was there until the end, but it wasn’t the same script at all. After the strike, the script had nothing to do with it. They changed the concept, they changed the story, the places, where it took place. It wasn’t the same anymore. It’s a pity. It was a cool character,” Kurylenko continued.
Photo: @ImAFilmEditor
Based on the timeline, it appears that had the SAG-AFTRA strike not happened, Taskmaster would have survived Thunderbolts*.
