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Yes, Marvel spoiled a major Thunderbolts* moment in the Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement, but hoped no-one would notice
A widely-spread MCU fan-theory regarding who was (and wasn't) in the cast list of Avengers: Doomsday turned out to be 100% on the money
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This article contains MAJOR spoilers for Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts*
Ever since Marvel Studios livestreamed their Avengers: Doomsday cast list, MCU fans have been talking about a curious absence. See, pretty much every member of the Thunderbolts team was on that list except for Olga Kurylenko, who plays Taskmaster in the film. Immediately, fans wondered if this wasn't a huge spoiler on Marvel's part, essentially revealing that Taskmaster would die in Thunderbolts* and not be available to face off against Victor Von Doom.
And, well, yep. That's what happened.
Marvel Studios basically let slip that Taskmaster would bite the dust a month and a half before Thunderbolts* actually hit theaters. We talked about her death in Popverse's Thunderbolts* ending explained, but here's a quick recap for those that need one.
Taskmaster, AKA Antonia Dreykov, is one of four supersoldiers sent to a mysterious compound in the desert owned by villain Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, along with Yelena Belova, John Walker, and Ava Starr. Each of them have been sent with a different mission in mind, but it turns out, they were really just sent their to kill each other, or at least be trapped there until a scheduled demolition of the compound wipes them all out.
Out of all of the trained badasses there, only one actually achieves her goal - that would be Ava, AKA Ghost, played by Hannah John-Kamen. She was there to take out Taskmaster, and in the heat of the battle, she accomplished just that, putting a bullet through Taskmaster's fancy new helmet, which, for God knows what reason, wasn't bulletproof.
Kinda like Marvel's Thunderbolts* marketing, I guess.
Thunderbolts* is in theaters now. Avengers: Doomsday (sans Taskmaster) comes to theaters May 1, 2026.
Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:
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