Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier was happy to lean into shaking up the tone of the new Marvel movie after MCU boss Kevin Feige surprised him with a request.
Much has been made of the film taking on more of a ‘pure cinema’ style and approach like that of critically acclaimed, indie darling studio A24 – including in the movie’s own promotional materials, which featured a specially-designed trailer boasting its credentials.
And now its cast – which includes Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan and David Harbour –and creatives have defended that ‘accurate’ (if a little tongue-in-cheek) label while breaking it down for fans.
‘From the moment I came onto the film, the first thing Kevin [Feige] said is, “Make it different” – and I wasn’t expecting that. But Kevin knows what he’s doing, and if he’s telling you to do something, just try to do it,’ Schreier shared with Metro at the Thunderbolts* European premiere in London’s Leicester Square on Tuesday.
And while the A24 comparison he describes as Marvel ‘having a bit of a laugh’, there’s also a lot that makes sense in that sell, from those working on it – Schreier was showrunner on A24’s Emmy-winning TV series Beef – to how Thunderbolts* presents itself.
‘We did bring in some new crew, a lot of people from Beef worked on this movie and did such a great job. But also, there were a ton of crew that worked on this that have done so many Marvel movies that still show up, so passionate about what they do and wanting to make something great.
‘More than anything, we just wanted to make something that felt human, and really came from a character, and had stunts that were tactile, that you could see that we really went out and did.’
He added: ‘I don’t know that that makes it indie – or just, hopefully, it’s good filmmaking, and that’s what we tried to do.’
Schreier also admitted that ‘people have made fun of’ his pitch for Thunderbolts* including Ronin, Mission: Impossible 4 [Ghost Protocol], The Breakfast Club, Reservoir Dogs – and Toy Story 3.
‘I made a little reel of movies where characters don’t trust each other when I was pitching on the movie, way back. I’m not saying it’s like those movies, but they had sequences that were fun to reference,’ he explained.
‘In the end, you work with great writers and great actors, and Brian [Chapek, executive producer] and everyone at Marvel – and at some point, you really want to leave those references behind and just kind of figure out what the movie wants to be in its own right.’
Chapek also gave his take on the unusual branding for Thunderbolts* and how important it was for Marvel to do something different to what was expected for the movie that wraps up Phase 5 of the MCU in cinemas.
‘When you make a movie called Thunderbolts*, you have to find a way to make it feel interesting and different. There have been other movies that have come out before this one that people might have likened [it to] like, “When Thunderbolts comes out, it’s gonna feel like this or that.” So it really drove us to find something that felt unique and different, and it all came together when we found Jake,’ he explained to Metro.
Chapek, who is the son of former Disney CEO Bob Chapek and has worked on several MCU projects including Black Widow and Thor: Love and Thunder, also credited Schreier’s ability to handle ‘some pretty heady topics, but it’s also funny’ on Beef as what showed he was right for the Thunderbolts* job.
‘In a world where you’re telling a story about these underdogs, who’re all dealing with this inner darkness – but still needs to have the fun of a Marvel movie – he was the perfect partner to create this kind of A24 tone that everyone’s been talking about.’
In terms of what fans can expect from Thunderbolts*, Chapek teased: ‘This is a movie that’s very internal and it feels relatable to a lot of people. So I think it’s just the sum of the experience that you take away at the end of it, something that can feel like a Marvel movie but also be entirely different.’
Cast member Wyatt Russell, who plays John Walker (the former would-be Captain America who debuted on TV show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), also praised the A24 label as something ‘that I really do think pairs well with what this movie had to offer’.
‘So using that in some of the promotions was really smart, it’s accurate!’ he chuckled.
The 38-year-old actor – son of Hollywood mainstays Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn – also revealed how the ‘indie’ vibe of Thunderbolts* was apparent on set.
‘Everybody here has worked inside of a world like that and understood what that process was like. So there were times when we were in the back of a car, in the middle of Utah in the desert and it was 1000 degrees.’
‘You look around and you’re like, “Oh my God, this big Marvel movie, it’s insane!” And then cut to – you’re just in the back of a hot car with a camera, that’s all you’re doing,’ he told Metro.
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The official ‘unconventional’ team of antiheroes making up the Thunderbolts* is Pugh’s Yelena Belova, Stan’s Bucky Barnes, Harbour’s Red Guardian, John-Kamen’s Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster and Russell’s John Walker.
After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) , these disillusioned cast-offs are forced to embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts as they grapple with the possibility of redemption.
Thunderbolts* is released in cinemas on Friday, May 2.
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