Thunderbolts* Team and Director Discuss the ‘Emperor’s New Groove’-Inspired Stunt

The 36th chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings together a unique ensemble of characters on a journey of self-discovery. Thunderbolts* features Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and a character named Bob (Lewis Pullman) all somehow collaborating, while the film delves into deeper themes of loneliness and despair. With Beef director Jake Schreier at the helm, Thunderbolts* captures authentic moments for these super-powered individuals.

Director Schreier, along with John-Kamen and Pullman, explored the underlying concepts amidst the action, emphasizing the complex emotions at play. “I brought in a lot of collaborators who can connect with that loneliness, and they’re also some of the funniest people I know,” said Schreier, who collaborated with Beef writers Lee Sung Jin (aka Sonny Lee) and Joanna Calo, as well as editor Harry Yoon and production designer Grace Yun. “I think we always felt like those two things could coexist: that you didn’t have to sacrifice comedy or fun to address a sense of emptiness or darkness. Those were themes that we really explored on Beef,” he added. “It seems odd to make a summer blockbuster that has those ideas in it, [but] it’s not actually any smaller of an idea than anything else you would make a summer blockbuster about.”

Schreier, John-Kamen, and Pullman also discussed one of the standout scenes in Thunderbolts*, involving a life-or-death “team-building exercise” in which Yelena, Bob, John, and Ghost (aka Ava) must navigate back-to-back up a towering shaft — a scene Schreier said stemmed from one of his earliest pitch meetings to Marvel. “We always described it in shooting as probably maybe the least-dynamic action sequence in Marvel history, probably,” he noted.

“It’s just such a juxtaposition of what Marvel is,” added John-Kamen. “I mean, it’s the only way we can get out.”

Thunderbolts* is now showing in cinemas.