Thunderbolts* was a return to form for the MCU, yet unlike anything that came before it in the franchise. It delivered another Marvel team, only this one mostly featured secondary characters who saved the day with empathy and hugs. What was it like to lead a movie about loneliness and depression for the world’s biggest superhero series? Nerdist spoke to director Jake Schreier about what it was like making an MCU movie. And we since we talked shortly after Kevin Feige confirmed Schreier will helm Marvel Studios’ X-Men movie, we also touched on what lessons from Thunderbolts* he’ll bring with him while directing mutants.
Nerdist: We’re talking because the film just came out on digital and it’ll soon be out on Blu-ray. So in a way, you’re at the end of your Thunderbolts* experience. How do you feel now that you’ve gone through the full cycle of making an MCU movie?
Jake Schreier: I feel really grateful. Really grateful for the experience and for the people that I met. I remember our Production Designer Grace Yun, when she and I went into it, because she had never done something at this scale and neither had I, she was like, “It’ll be going to grad school.” And three years later at the end of that process I feel like that came true. All of us learned so much from doing this. That’s a special thing, to be able to do something that pushes you, that you’ve never done before, that feels kind of almost like too much at first. Then, to get to the other side of that, and feel really grateful for the connections you made, such wonderful actors and wonderful crew.
And also to just be proud of it. It’s weird to maybe say that for yourself. But for the people involved I’m genuinely proud. I watched Lewis [Pullman]’s performance and I’m proud of him. He came in and that’s such a hard part to pull off. He worked so hard on it and he cared so much. And you could say that for all of the actors. Florence [Pugh] and everything she brought to it. Obviously that’s Florence. She always does that. But I really only have positive feelings about what we did and getting through it and the experience of making it.
And maybe that’s the thing that’s interesting. A little less because we got to watch it with people a few times, but otherwise, then it’s kind of out in the world. You’re not necessarily part of that conversation. But you do think back just on the experience of the thing. And it’s been fun to just check in with everyone and stay in touch. Everyone just feels really good about what that was.
You said it’s all positive, but from your first meeting with Marvel Studios to today, what surprised you most about this process, both good and bad?
Schreier: I was surprised at just how much support and encouragement there was to kind of go and take a swing and go in a new direction with this film. And I don’t mean that as this one in particular. I think that Kevin [Feige] really loves filmmakers and loves movies and wants things to be different. He would always say, “People talk about the ‘Marvel look.’ I don’t know what the ‘Marvel look’ is. I just want good movies made.” That was really welcome and really nice.
Not that I expected there not to be support, but if the movie feels different it’s because he pushed for it to be that way. I embraced that challenge. But it’s not like I came in and was trying to pull it away and there was resistance. The movie is what it is because Brian Chapek, Lou D’Esposito, Kevin, and everyone at Marvel asking for us to take it someplace. I don’t know that I expected even that, just how much they wanted that to be true and how much support there was for that.
You recorded your director’s commentary the day the movie came out, so you didn’t have a chance to hear from fans yet. What about the response from viewers has made you the happiest and what has maybe caught you off guard a little bit?
Schreier: We had some sense [of fans’ reactions]. I asked to do the commentary as late as possible because…do you remember Commentary Tracks Of The Damned? That’s my nightmare, where you just don’t want to do it too early and then not know how it’s going to sound.
I don’t know if it’s surprising, but it’s really nice when people connect to Bob and what he’s going through. And also Yelena and the way they connect. If people feel like they see something of themselves in the movie, something that they’ve gone through, that was the sort of idea of making a movie about something like this. Even if it seems like kind of an unexpected thing to make a superhero movie about, these kind of feelings of depression or emotional complications, these aren’t niche ideas anymore. That essentially everyone has, at least at one time or another, struggled with a version of that. To see that come true and have people reach out and be like, “This reminded me of this really hard time I was going through,” we had hoped for that. But it was nice to see it actually come true.
In your commentary track, you talk about how Thunderbolts* is very meta and how it deconstructs superhero movies. Would you have been as eager to make an MCU film if you’d been offered a more traditional installment?
Schreier: It’s hard to answer that, you know what I mean? There’s certainly something about this one that felt right for me. And look, there’s a big long pitching process. So if you’re right for it or not that will be revealed through the process and many conversations.
I do think that there’s something about these characters, the fact that they’re a little less expected and more off kilter, that did feel more like a good fit for what I could bring to it. But I think, just in that it’s not the most well-known group of Marvel heroes, that also provides an opportunity to take a swing and do something different with it.
In your commentary, you share certain aspects were ideas you pitched. What’s the best idea you pitched that didn’t make it in
Schreier: If it didn’t make it in, it probably wasn’t a very good idea. And I had a lot of bad ideas, I’m sure. It’s hard to remember now because it’s a three year process and I’m very tired. But that’s what’s so nice about the place, is that it’s just “best idea wins.” [Marvel] really encourages that, from Eric Pearson, Sonny (Lee Sung Jin), Joanna Calo, Brian, Kevin, Lou, and our editors like Harry Yoon and Angela Catanzaro.
You never stop trying to make the movie better. It’s a constant set of ideas and how they can work their way into it. So that’s what’s sort of nice. We were always trying to make it better and make the best decision we can make under the circumstances. So I don’t look back and feel like, “Oh, we should have done this or that.” I understand why we made the choices we made and I feel good about what we did.
Even if you don’t really look back, are there any ideas that didn’t quite get there that you still think, “I wish we had kind of cracked the code?”
Schreier: They’re not ideas. I say in the commentary track there’s a couple of sequences that I think I could have done a better job directing
On the commentary, you mentioned the fight scene where Yelena protects Bob while looking for John.
Schreier: Yeah. And Bob flying up in the air. There’s some conceptual stuff that you learn where it’s like, “Don’t have a character fly up into a night sky with no lighting.” It’s just not a recipe for a movie where I mostly feel really good about the blend of practical effects and CG, the way the action looks, and feeling grounded and human.
That’s a moment where it’s not a flaw of anyone’s work. The same great people who did all the other things did that. It’s me putting people not in a position to succeed conceptually. That’s a real learning curve. And that hallway fight, we didn’t crack it. We just had put such a massive amount of effort into that first vault fight because that’s going to introduce all the characters and the details. We planned every shot of it and we had pre-edited it and we were dropping things in and editing as we went. And the hallway fight, it’s a tough one because, again, all the lights are off, there’s smoke, but it didn’t quite land in the way to meet the standard of the other stuff.
So it’s more things like that. I can see why that happened. It’s a bandwidth thing and really just trying to stay ahead and make sure that there’s a strong concept for each sequence. That’s something that I definitely would want to improve on going forward.
You didn’t touch on this in your commentary, and I was curious while listening: How much input, if any, did you have into which characters would make up the Thunderbolts?
Schreier: That’s really the team, Eric Pearson and Brian Chapek. I had one bad idea in the early pitching process and it was summarily dismissed.
What was the idea?
Schreier: I mentioned this and everyone acts like it wasn’t a serious thing. I think in my first pitch meeting I was like, ”What if Man-Thing were on the team?” And they were like, “That’s cute. We’re already doing something with Man-Thing.” But yeah, the team essentially was in place in the first draft I read. And then the big change was midway through the pitching process before I was on the movie, Eric and Brian put Sentry the Void into it. That was such a great, interesting addition. Once that was in that really drove where we went with the rest of the story. There wasn’t a lot of lineup discussion after that.
You can blame your boss for this. What are the most important lessons, be it successes or failures from Thunderbolts*, you’re now going to take with you into X-Men?
Schreier: The big feeling after getting done with this is that it felt like such a challenge and a learning curve, because I’d never done something like this before at this scale, and just when you get to the end you feel like, “Oh, I kind of, just a little bit, know better how to do this now.” Not that I figured it out. But that I just have a better sense. And you want to take those lessons and apply them going forward.
Obviously [X-Men] is an ensemble film and, inherently whatever it ends up being, is going to deal with complicated characters. I just really love what I do and especially these days, it’s not to be taken for granted to get the opportunity to do it. And to get to work on things at a scale that really still challenges you. That you feel like you have a lot to learn from and you get to work with the best crew in the world and the best actors in the world and learn from them.
The lesson of Thunderbolts* is also the lesson of making the movie, which is that you cannot do this alone. You really have to lean on a great team and it’s the only way to get through this stuff. And definitely, looking back on Thunderbolts*, I mainly take away that I feel really, really lucky.
I say this on the commentary as you’re going through those end credits, I know all those people. Every little line that just goes by so fast, I could talk to you for an hour about what they brought to the movie and how crucial they are to it. And yet that’s just as true of the next line that’s scrolling by. That to me is the biggest thing going forward. Just really being excited to work with an incredible team.
And, hopefully in the same way that everyone did on Thunderbolts*, have everyone bring some part of themselves to the movie. I think Thunderbolts* feels very personal to Florence. I think it feels very personal to Lewis. It definitely feels personal to me. If everyone can leave a movie feeling that way, then that puts you in a great position to make something that hopefully resonates with people.
Unlike Thunderbolts* where you said that the lineup was already set, will you have a say in which mutants are going to appear?
Schreier: :pause: If it’s okay, I’m going to leave out any more detail. I can say that we’ve started working on it and it’s very exciting. That’s what I can say.
You might give me the same answer, but can you at least say, hypothetically, which mutant you would be most excited to direct?
Schreier: I definitely cannot answer that question, but I totally don’t mind you asking it. Sorry. It’s very nice to talk to you and you seem very nice. And I would like to have a nice conversation with you about this. But then I have to consider the internet. So I will plead the fifth.
In fairness, by asking I’m also considering the internet.
Schreier: Yes. No, I know that. And I appreciate that.
Thunderbolts* arrives on Blu-ray on July 29, 2025.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He appreciates Jake Schreier calling him “nice.” You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
The post THUNDERBOLTS* Director Jake Schreier Talks Making an MCU Movie, Tackling X-MEN, and More appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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