‘Trying different things becomes attractive at some point’: ‘Thunderbolts’ director explains why he made the jump to the MCU

When it comes to directing, Jake Schreier isn’t afraid of taking chances — although, to be honest, most directors probably aren’t strangers to risk every now and again. Recently praised for his time spent in the director’s chair on six episodes of Netflix’s latest smash series Beef, Schreier is no stranger to thinking outside of the box.

Now, as Schreier prepares himself for his MCU debut in the upcoming 2024 film, Thunderbolts, The Hollywood Reporter sat down with some of today’s most prolific filmmakers to discuss their perspectives on storytelling.

This particular episode of Round Table is an instant classic. Just look at who THR is talking to: Mark Mylod (Succession); Paris Barclay (Netflix’s Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story); Liz Garbus (Yellowjackets); Peter Hoar (The Last of Us); Karyn Kusama (Dead Ringers); and, of course, Jake Schreier.

When asked what it was like to get the call from Marvel, Schreier talked at length about what it took for him to say yes. Although, I’m not quite sure what director nowadays would turn the House of Mouse down outright.

“Jon Watts, who did the latest Spider-Man movies, and I were roommates in college, and I did second unit on the L.A. portion of the first one (Spider-Man: Homecoming). So, I know those guys a little bit and had talked to them about a few movies in the past. Where I’m at, it’s the experience of getting to work on something that large.”

Saying no to the House of Mouse is always an option, and plenty of directors have shied away from taking on the Herculean task of joining the MCU. For my money, it seems the common denominator is scale — and when you look at how many moving pieces go into bringing superheroes to life, that can be intimidating.

If storytelling is sort of your bread and butter, if the story isn’t good, then why make the darn thing in the first place? Thankfully, Jake Schreier seemed to like the story for Thunderbolts, and the rest is history.

“Obviously, it happened to be a very good idea for a film that I was drawn to. But the experience of getting to work on something at that scale and trying different things becomes attractive at some point. It’s less about ‘This is the narrative that I’m writing of my career,’ and more about what experiences I’d like to have. What would be interesting to work on? Who would I like to work with? That’s what did it.”

Thunderbolts centers around a team of Marvel anti-heroes as they fight evil in their own dark, cynical style. A team of absolute beasts, I may add. We’re talkin’ Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, Ghost, Red Guardian, Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier), US Agent, and Taskmaster — among others. It’s true that we’re going to have to wait a while before seeing all these folks do some serious damage, but we’re in good hands with a guy like Jake Schreier in charge.