Thunderbolts*, sorry, The New Avengers, helmed by Emmy winner Jake Schreier, is a bona fide hit both critically and financially. With a cast of characters who don’t exactly scream “Avengers material”: Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, and John Walker, have become lovable losers who have endeared themselves to audiences.
In a new Q&A with Marvel, Schreier dug into what drew him to the MCU, how the film fits into the evolving Marvel narrative, and why this unlikely team may just be the most relatable one yet.
For Schreier, stepping into the Marvel Universe felt like a natural next move, thanks in part to his connection with longtime friend and Spider-Man director Jon Watts
“I’m friends with Jon Watts… so I got an inside look at what it is to work in this world and to see what he pulled off,” Schreier explains. “Especially with this group of characters… because they’re not as familiar, there’s an opportunity there; there’s a little bit more freedom and a little less expectation.
While some filmmakers might find working inside the MCU daunting, Schreier found the experience creatively liberating.
“The main thing is just Kevin guiding [us]. He’s so good at this… When you have a [studio] that has been so successful for so long, to still try new things and push things forward, there’s so much freedom in that encouragement,” he says. “Kevin and [Louis D’Esposito] earned that. That trust really protects you.”
Unlike previous Marvel squads, the Thunderbolts* don’t come with clean-cut hero credentials—and that’s the point.
“I think they’re sort of your least anticipated group of Marvel heroes [laughs]. But in that way, they’re like us,” Schreier notes. “They’re people who have found themselves in a place they didn’t expect to be… and I think anyone can relate. The question is: What do you do from there?”
For Schreier, the key to managing a large ensemble cast was tapping into the emotional truth of each character—and giving the actors space to help shape their roles.
“It really starts with this incredible group of actors and how much they care… about the characters that they’ve built and have come to feel protective of,” he notes. “We tried to build that into the script, but [it also came through] conversations… about what felt honest to their characters.”
While the MCU often plays in black-and-white territory of heroes vs. villains, Schreier approached Thunderbolts* with a more nuanced lens.
“Other than Alexi [Harbour]—who is so invested in this meta idea of heroism… we didn’t talk so much about heroes and villains,” he says. “It’s about being in a place and how you get out of it… it’s really about saving yourself and saving each other.”
Even with all the explosions and IMAX spectacle, Schreier insists that the emotional core had to stay front and center.
“When we’re stuck in our own thought loops… there’s often a tendency to feel like we’re alone,” he says. “While they all have their individual traumas… if they open themselves up to that connection, they [begin] to see that others can understand them.”
“Look, we want to have a lot of fun in this movie… but you never want that stuff to get ahead of where the characters are. You want to feel like that action is coming from a story perspective.”
Thunderbolts* may be packed with Marvel muscle, but it’s clear that Jake Schreier is leading with heart—assembling a team that’s less about capes and more about connection.
Thunderbolts*, sorry, The New Avengers, helmed by Emmy winner Jake Schreier, is a bona fide hit both critically and financially. With a cast of characters who don’t exactly scream “Avengers material”: Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, and John Walker, have become lovable losers who have endeared themselves to audiences.
In a new Q&A with Marvel, Schreier dug into what drew him to the MCU, how the film fits into the evolving Marvel narrative, and why this unlikely team may just be the most relatable one yet.
For Schreier, stepping into the Marvel Universe felt like a natural next move, thanks in part to his connection with longtime friend and Spider-Man director Jon Watts
“I’m friends with Jon Watts… so I got an inside look at what it is to work in this world and to see what he pulled off,” Schreier explains. “Especially with this group of characters… because they’re not as familiar, there’s an opportunity there; there’s a little bit more freedom and a little less expectation.
While some filmmakers might find working inside the MCU daunting, Schreier found the experience creatively liberating.
“The main thing is just Kevin guiding [us]. He’s so good at this… When you have a [studio] that has been so successful for so long, to still try new things and push things forward, there’s so much freedom in that encouragement,” he says. “Kevin and [Louis D’Esposito] earned that. That trust really protects you.”
Unlike previous Marvel squads, the Thunderbolts* don’t come with clean-cut hero credentials—and that’s the point.
“I think they’re sort of your least anticipated group of Marvel heroes [laughs]. But in that way, they’re like us,” Schreier notes. “They’re people who have found themselves in a place they didn’t expect to be… and I think anyone can relate. The question is: What do you do from there?”
For Schreier, the key to managing a large ensemble cast was tapping into the emotional truth of each character—and giving the actors space to help shape their roles.
“It really starts with this incredible group of actors and how much they care… about the characters that they’ve built and have come to feel protective of,” he notes. “We tried to build that into the script, but [it also came through] conversations… about what felt honest to their characters.”
While the MCU often plays in black-and-white territory of heroes vs. villains, Schreier approached Thunderbolts* with a more nuanced lens.
“Other than Alexi [Harbour]—who is so invested in this meta idea of heroism… we didn’t talk so much about heroes and villains,” he says. “It’s about being in a place and how you get out of it… it’s really about saving yourself and saving each other.”
Even with all the explosions and IMAX spectacle, Schreier insists that the emotional core had to stay front and center.
“When we’re stuck in our own thought loops… there’s often a tendency to feel like we’re alone,” he says. “While they all have their individual traumas… if they open themselves up to that connection, they [begin] to see that others can understand them.”
“Look, we want to have a lot of fun in this movie… but you never want that stuff to get ahead of where the characters are. You want to feel like that action is coming from a story perspective.”
Thunderbolts* may be packed with Marvel muscle, but it’s clear that Jake Schreier is leading with heart—assembling a team that’s less about capes and more about connection.
