The ‘Robot & Frank’ filmmaker will direct from a script by ‘Black Widow’ writer Eric Pearson, with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige producing
Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts movie has found its director in Jake Schreier, Deadline reports.
The project will be Schreier’s biggest yet. The filmmaker first broke out as a director of music videos for Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, and Justin Bieber, and announced his arrival as a feature helmer in 2012, when his Frank Langella-starring sci-fi dramedy, Robot & Frank, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize.
While plot details remain scarce, Thunderbolts reportedly “revolves around a group of villains who are sent on missions commissioned by the government.” Black Widow screenwriter Eric Pearson is attached to deliver the script, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will produce.
Exactly which characters will be included in the film’s story is also unknown at this time, but according to Deadline’s sources, Marvel seems to be hard at work recruiting “certain individuals who already are part of the MCU[,] to make sure to keep an opening in their schedules for next summer when it shoots.” Thunderbolts’ title refers to a team of antiheroes that includes Baron Zemo, Yelena Belova, Ghost, Taskmaster, The Abomination, U.S. Agent, and the Winter Soldier -- all of whom seem likely to be key players in the narrative.
The Thunderbolts super-squad first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1997, assuming identities as heroes in the wake of the Avengers’ deaths. Later iterations saw the team comprised of ex-villains attempting to rehabilitate themselves, and taking on dangerous government missions.
Max Weinstein is a writer and editor based in Los Angeles. He is the Editor-at-Large of 'Dread Central' and former Editorial Director of 'MovieMaker.' His work has been featured in 'Cineaste,' 'Fangoria,' 'Playboy,' 'Vice,' and 'The Week.'
