What happens to Taskmaster in Thunderbolts*? Character's fate explored

Thunderbolts* features several villains from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) facing their own traumas while being forced to work together on a mission. The 36th MCU film dropped in the theatres on May 2, 2025. Its official synopsis, as per Letterboxd reads:

After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, seven disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.

One of the villains featured in the film is Taskmaster from Black Widow, who is instantly killed. Let's find out more about her fate.

**What happens to Taskmaster in Thunderbolts*?**

In Thunderbolts*, Antonia Dreykov, aka Taskmaster, is part of the antihero collective. The character, who was the villain in Black Widow, has returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). One of the initial scenes of the film takes place at the OXE compound, which is secretly operated by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Taskmaster, Ghost, US Agent, and Yelena get into a fight, which ends with Ghost shooting Taskmaster to death.

This moment is sudden, and the character does not get a proper exit or moment in Thunderbolts*. It goes with the mood of the film, where anyone can die, and all the superheroes are vulnerable.

In Black Widow, Taskmaster was the daughter of General Dreykov and had managed to survive a bomb blast, which rendered her brain dead. This enables her father to have complete control over her. A chip is put inside her brain, which turns her into an assassin. She developed the ability to mimic her opponent's fighting style. Towards the end of the film, she eventually leaves her father and joins the Black Widows.

Thunderbolts* is directed by Jake Schreier, and Joanna Calo and Eric Pearson wrote the film. In a THR interview, Schreier revealed that his friend was going through mental health struggles, which prompted him to put that angle in the film. He said:

“A close personal friend struggles with [depression], and I mapped Sentry’s arc off of a lot of things that he’s experienced. If you are going to tell a story about something like this, the last thing we want for anyone that struggles, including myself, with what the characters are going through is to feel like we’re being reductive about it or that we’re simplifying it or that we’re saying that it can be even solved. It’s more about the idea that you can bear it with others, but it’s not going to go away.”

He further spoke about Avengers: Doomsday, whose casting slot was revealed in April 2025.

“I was aware of [the Avengers: Doomsday casting announcement] at the same time the rest of the world was. When I would worry about spoilers or things like that, Jon [Watts] would always say, ‘When you sit down in the theater and the lights go down, you forget all of that stuff. You’re in the story.’”

Have you seen Thunderbolts*? Sound off in the comments section below.