The oft-criticized "MCU machine" may not be real after all, says Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier. Having built the biggest movie franchise in the world and the first truly successful cinematic universe, releasing more projects per year than anyone else in Hollywood, Marvel Studios was always bound to receive some criticism. While the studio's inner workings are rather hush, hush, some are still skeptical of the MCU, claiming its releases to be "made by committee" and studio-focussed, preventing writers and directors from being fully creative.
Schreier boarded Thunderbolts* in June 2022, but the cameras didn't start rolling for some time due to the Hollywood strikes and numerous rewrites. While Phase 5's final movie disappointed at the box office, bringing in just $382.4 million worldwide, it was well-received by fans and critics. Many even called it one of the MCU's best movies since 2019's Avengers: Endgame, landing with an "A-" CinemaScore and 88% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Those strong reactions were enough to land Schreier the top job on Phase 7's biggest movie, as he is set to direct the MCU's much-anticipated X-Men reboot.
Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier spoke with The Wrap about his first experience working for Marvel Studios and revealed details about the process that will bother skeptics of Hollywood's biggest franchise.
When asked what surprised him about making his first MCU movie, Schreier noted his shock that it "was not a machine" and rather was a "really supportive environment" for a small group to bring ideas together:
"I mean, whether I’ll be believed or not, but I can say it genuinely, what I was really surprised about is that it was not a machine and that it was just this really supportive environment. Because of the longtime success of the company, there is this autonomy and this ability for it to be a few people in a room just coming up with ideas, and if they like those ideas, they say, 'Go for it.'"
He added that, from the get-go, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told him to "make [Thunderbolts*] different," which came as a particular surprise given the MCU's success with a fairly consistent formula:
"I think from the moment I came in, Kevin [Feige] said, 'Make it different. Do something with this one. Try to do something different.' And that’s such a supportive prompt to be given by the head of a company that’s had so much success doing things a certain way."
The director was well aware that the Thunderbolts were not the "most familiar" to audiences, and it was important to use that as a strength to do something unique when "the same set of expectations are not there:"
"You try to make your shortcomings, your strengths. It’s not the most familiar title to people. Because of that, can you take that and use it as an opportunity to try to run off. If the same set of expectations are not there, can you use that to do something different?"
The outlet also asked how Schreier was feeling after finishing Thunderbolts*, to which he emphasized the "tight timeline" of getting the movie ready, only actually delivering the final cut "two weeks before it came out:"
"I feel good. I think I’m still recovering from sleep deficit probably but it takes a minute. It was just so strange, like we finished it two weeks before it came out. It’s such a tight timeline. I was finishing effect shots for the home release, just improving them a little bit, the day or two days before the movie came out. It’s all such a rush. And you’re so sleep deprived. And then all of a sudden, it’s out in the world."
Ultimately, Schreier (who was best known before Thunderbolts* for Netflix's Emmy-nominated series The Beef) concluded it had "only been a positive experience:"
"It’s interesting to have a minute to step back from it and take some stock – and it feels really good. I learned so much and I got to work with such incredible people, both in the cast and on the crew, that it’s only been a positive experience."
Jake Schreier's MCU Comments Are Great News for His X-Men Reboot Movie
For years, many MCU skeptics have been convinced that its movies were developed in a boardroom by Kevin Feige and other executives, with directors and writers only hired to fulfill their vision. Ultimately, the consensus from these critics has been that the only focus in development was the box office and the larger MCU storyline, with no creative juices truly allowed to flow.
Coming off one of the MCU's best-received movies in years, Jake Schreier has shut down those claims by making it clear how much creative control he was allowed to "do something different" with Thunderbolts*.
Schreier's "positive experience" is only made clearer by his immediate jump into another MCU project, as he is set to develop the next X-Men movie alongside The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes writer Michael Lesslie.
After Schreier managed to deliver emotional character moments, incredible practical action, and a powerful story about mental health with Thunderbolts*, fans can only hope he will be given the same freedom with the X-Men.
While that project is bound to be under Kevin Feige's watchful eye due to its importance, Schreier should have earned Marvel Studios' trust. Fans won't reap the benefits of that work for several years, unfortunately, as a recent update indicated the X-Men reboot won't release until after 2027.
