Black Widow's take on Taskmaster was comic-accurate in the sense that he successfully mimicked the MCU's superheroes and was a force to be reckoned with. However, the movie would eventually reveal that he was a she, with Tony Masters swapped out for Antonia Dreykov.
With a much-improved costume in Thunderbolts*, the hope had been that Taskmaster might find some redemption in the team-up project.
However, while she has appeared in trailers, TV spots, and posters for the movie, it's become clear that her role will be limited. Speculation has run rampant; does "Bob" immediately kill Taskmaster, or is she secretly working for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine?
Thanks to the recent Thunderbolts* fan screenings, we have an answer.
It's said that Congress is attempting to impeach Val for corruption tied to the O.X.E. corporation. It seems the CIA Director has been conducting her own experiments off-the-books, and to tie up those loose ends, she sends U.S. Agent, Taskmaster, Yelena Belova, and Ghost to a remote base where she hopes they'll all take each other out.
Bucky is a Congressman attempting to help take Val down, and Red Guardian learns independently that Yelena is in trouble, so they both show up at the base, where the team encounters "Bob," a little later.
Back to Taskmaster, though, and it's said she's killed almost immediately after being shot in the head by Ghost. While Yelena is closely tied to her fellow Red Room operative, it sounds like the negative headspace she's in at this point in the story means she concludes that bad people who do bad things die, and that she and the rest of the Thunderbolts will eventually follow.
So, that's all she wrote with Taskmaster. It was previously reported that Taskmaster and Ghost's friendship would be a key part of Thunderbolts*'s story, but something clearly changed in rewrites or reshoots.
Olga Kurylenko recently acknowledged, "Well, they changed a couple of things. [Laughs] That's all I can say, but that also doesn't say anything, because obviously every movie is different, and in every movie, things change. But yeah, it will be different, we'll see. There's nothing I can say."
Are you disappointed that Taskmaster meets her maker in Thunderbolts*?
In Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes - Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?
The cast of Thunderbolts* will be led by Florence Pugh as Yelena Boleva, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Lewis Pullman as "Bob."
Written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo, and directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* is currently set to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.