Emmy-nominated director Jake Schreier recently spoke to Collider about his work on the Netflix anthology series Beef, but also squeezed in a few questions about his upcoming turn directing Marvel's Thunderbolts.
Check out the interview below.
When asked what Schreier would gain or learn from taking on the gargantuan task of directing a Marvel film, Schreier responded that it was the talented ensemble cast that drew him to the project.
"What jumped out first was that the cast is just incredible. Any movie with that cast, how could you not be excited about getting to work with that group of people? And also, Jon Watts is my roommate from college, and knowing what a great experience he had making those films- I even did the second-unit LA portion of one of the Spider-Man movies. I had a little more of an [insider] connection to that world."
"Beyond that, it was really just a new approach and a different story to tell. It's not a sequel. Yes, these characters have appeared before but it is a new story being told. And a story with a very different perspective than people are expecting. I think that felt exciting and felt like a real challenge worth taking on."
When asked about the tone and style that he'll bring to Thunderbolts to help the film stand out from its MCU predecessors, Jake describes his directorial approach as an endeavor to craft something unique and specific but in such a way that makes it relatable to a wide-range of people.
"It's about characters and is there something specific to those characters that brings them together? Is there something that they're going through that isn't the most traditional superhero story to be told? And I think if you can hit that- and if you look at something like Beef, it's so specific on so many levels. Sonny (series creator Sung Jin Lee) brought so much of himself to it, as did Ali and Steven. And in making something that specific, become something universal. "
Marvel's Thunderbolts is part of Phase 5 of the MCU and is currently set to be released on December 20, 2024. Beef director Jake Schreier is helming the project, while Beef creator Sung "Sonny" Jin Lee is co-writing the script alongside Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow).
The Thunderbolts team will consist of Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko).
Additionally, Steven Yeun and Ayo Edebiri have undisclosed roles. Harrison Ford's Thunderbolt Ross is also expected to appear. Yeun is rumored but unconfirmed to be playing The Sentry in the film.