Why Zemo Was Cut or Hiding in Plain Sight in Thunderbolts

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Jake Schreier, director of Thunderbolts, has explained why one original member of the Thunderbolts team from the comics is missing in the MCU movie version. At D23 2022, Marvel Studios officially revealed the Thunderbolts team lineup, which included characters that had been introduced in series and films such as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Ant-Man and the Wasp. However, one name was conspicuously absent – Baron Helmut Zemo, portrayed by Daniel Brühl. In the comics, Zemo is the original founder of the Thunderbolts, a team that initially presented themselves as villains to the public while secretly posing as heroes.

In an interview with Dexerto, director Jake Schreier admitted that fans were upset because Baron Zemo wasn’t part of the Thunderbolts team. Although characters like Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier (played by Sebastian Stan) and John Walker / U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) are returning, it seems that Daniel Brühl’s Zemo was never on the roster from early in the development stage, even before Schreier came aboard as director.

The movie departs from a standard origin story for the Thunderbolts, but it presents the idea of villains turning into heroes in an original way.

In the versions I’ve encountered, none have been accurate where that statement held true, even from the initial draft I read. Since then, there have been minor character adjustments, but not significantly. Baron Zemo wasn’t part of those earlier scenes. Some online communities express disappointment about this. It’s ironic because other parts of the internet yearn for a return to the first Thunderbolts series where villains disguised as heroes was the theme. I believe our movie aims, in some respects, to pay tribute to that concept, but from a unique perspective.

Is Baron Zemo Hiding in Plain Sight in ‘Thunderbolts*?’

As someone who closely follows the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zemo wasn’t part of the Thunderbolts team, even though he was one of its original members. The MCU has a history of making significant alterations to comic book teams when they are adapted for the big screen. For instance, Ant-Man and Wasp weren’t founding members in The Avengers, although Joss Whedon initially considered Zooey Deschanel for Wasp before Black Widow was cast. Even the Guardians of the Galaxy team is more closely modeled after the 2008 version rather than the original 1960s comics. Similarly, the Defenders in the Netflix series don’t resemble the comic book team at all; instead, they’ve created a new team that mirrors the MCU version better, which has since been introduced in the comics.

An intriguing fan theory has arisen suggesting that Zemo could be disguised among us in the guise of the Taskmaster. Given the scarcity of Taskmaster in the film’s promotion and the reported rewrites of Thunderbolts to minimize connections with Black Widow, some speculate that Taskmaster might meet an early demise, setting up a plot twist where the character is actually Zemo in disguise. This theory gains credence due to the absence of Taskmaster actress Olga Kurylenko from the film’s world premiere, leading many to believe that the character is being used as a decoy and will be unveiled as Zemo at a later date.

In a new light, Thunderbolts appear to revolve around anti-hero figures and individuals who have been influenced by dominant powers, bound together through shared trauma, ultimately rising above the societal expectations placed upon them. Although Zemo’s motivations may be understood, his character has been depicted as a villain capable of causing widespread destruction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Transforming him into a hero, one who will confront Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, is no small feat.

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2025-04-29 03:32