Marvel’s Thunderbolts* Kills Off Taskmaster and Teases Secret Eighth Member

Marvel’s Thunderbolts* Kills Off Taskmaster And Teases Secret Eighth Member

You blinked, and Taskmaster was gone.

Yep, Thunderbolts* just pulled one of the coldest, most ruthless moves in Marvel history — and it happened fast. Mid-mission, mid-scene, mid-existence. Boom. Ghost (played with icy precision by Hannah John-Kamen) took the shot. One bullet. No speech. No drama. Just Taskmaster, gone.

Director Jake Schreier, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, confirmed this was a deliberate gut-punch. “We wanted you to feel like no one is safe,” he said. And guess what? Mission accomplished.

It wasn’t even in the original script. The decision came late in development, aimed at jacking up the stakes and proving this squad isn’t playing Avengers cosplay — they’re in real danger.

But wait — the body count isn’t the only thing turning heads.

You know that little asterisk in Thunderbolts*? Turns out, it’s not just Marvel being cute. Officially, Marvel says the asterisk means “The Avengers are not available.” But fans (and let’s be honest, you too) have clocked the deeper tease: a secret eighth member hiding in plain sight.

The movie builds toward it. Slowly. Subtly. Until bam — the title screen flips in the final moments. “The New Avengers.”

Yep. That happened.

Over at Wikipedia, the movie’s final twist is clear: this isn’t just a ragtag squad of misfits anymore. They’re the team. And that hidden member? Marvel’s keeping it zipped for now. But it’s definitely not just an editing mistake.

Rumors swirled before release that this film was headed for a Rogue One-style massacre — full-on kill ‘em all, take no names. As FandomWire reported, those plans were scrapped to save key characters for future MCU arcs. Which, in hindsight, makes Taskmaster’s death feel even more brutal.

No warning. No glory. Just ghosted. Literally.

So here’s what we’re left with: a team in flux, a bold tonal shift for Marvel, and a big asterisk that’s not going away anytime soon.

The Thunderbolts* aren’t just here to fight. They’re here to surprise the hell out of us.