If there’s any IP where details about upcoming projects are kept under brick-covered tarps with armed guards surrounding the tarp, it’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And yet a somewhat major character death in Thunderbolts* was spoiled not by a cast member, not by someone on the crew, but by Marvel Studios itself. Specifically, during the much-viewed chairs announcement for Avengers: Doomsday. Any of the innumerable people who have watched that video saw every member of Marvel’s newest team get their actor’s name on a chair — except for one. It’s such a glaring omission that one can’t help to put two and two together, especially someone who has bought into the theorizations that this particular character wasn’t going to make it to the end credits.
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We’ll get into who we’re talking about in a bit. We’ll also get into how this isn’t the only major aspect of Thunderbolts* that has been spoiled by a major Marvel Studios player.
Naturally, Spoilers for Thunderbolts* follow.
Which Character Doesn’t See the End Credits?
As was speculated for months leading up to the release of Thunderbolts*, Taskmaster does not survive the film. In fact, she doesn’t survive the first act. In her first and only scene, which features her, U.S. Agent, Ghost, and Yelena duking it out in a bunker, she’s the only one who doesn’t walk away. Specifically, after Ghost materializes in front of her and shoots her in the head.
It’s a fairly unceremonious end for a cool character and Olga Kurylenko, who has always deserved a bit more from her studio projects (e.g. Hitman and Quantum of Solace). And, thanks to the fact that the marketing made it obvious pretty much from the jump she wasn’t going to stick around long (outside the first trailer, which ostensibly digitally inserted her in later scenes, she’s only shown in clips from the bunker fight scene), it’s not even a character death moment that carries much weight. The biggest surprise is that she dies that early.
[RELATED: Thunderbolts* Breaks Up the MCU’s Best Bromance]
What’s the Other Big Thunderbolts* Leak?
Again, we’re in major spoilers territory here.
On Saturday, just one day after Thunderbolts* debuted, the name that first comes to most people’s minds when they think of the MCU, Robert Downey Jr., essentially posted the film’s ending on Instagram. Without a doubt, the biggest surprise of Thunderbolts* isn’t Taskmaster’s demise, it’s the fact that, really, the movie isn’t called Thunderbolts* at all. It’s actually The New Avengers.
What seemed like a quick joke in the trailer was revealed to have a much grander purpose. Sure, it’s funny that the “Thunderbolts” was the name of Yelena’s childhood soccer team, but the real purpose of naming the film that (with the asterisk) was so it could be a misdirect.
Now, Downey Jr. doesn’t outright say “The movie’s called New Avengers!” but his Instagram post does capitalize the word “old” in “Old Avengers.” Like with the chair announcement and Taskmaster’s fate, people can put two and two together.
Downey Jr. has been with the MCU since the beginning, so he’s well-versed in the ways of remaining tight-lipped about superhero adventures. So, this was either a one-time slip or it’s a post Marvel is fine with. One imagines the latter is true, considering the post is still up.
Should the latter be true, it’s sign number two that Marvel has been fine with details about Thunderbolts* not being kept under wraps. Perhaps it can be chalked up to the fact that Phase 5 hasn’t been the non-stop success machine the other Phases were, so the higher-ups feel that every potential tactic to make their newest movie feel like an event is a tactic worth employing.
Fortunately, there’s reason to believe Thunderbolts* will have some legs at the box office. It’s overall a solid addition to the canon. Not to mention, Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is almost certainly going to be the biggest of the MCU’s three 2025 movies. Even if, once again, it’s possibly been spoiled by Marvel itself (this time during the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts*).
