Thunderbolts* Director on How Hiroshima Images Inspired The Void’s Powers
Jake Schreier, the director of the upcoming superhero feature Thunderbolts*, explained in a new interview how images of Hiroshima served as the inspiration for The Void’s powers in the movie. The latter is an antagonist in Thunderbolts* and appears to be immensely dynamic. Schreier detailed how they combined visual and practical effects to depict the terrifying abilities of the character.
Jake Schreier reveals the inspiration behind The Void’s lethal powers in Thunderbolts*
The Paper Towns director was asked during an interview about the visual effects in the scenes in the Thunderbolts* trailer where people encounter the Void. He said that he could “nerd out” on that before he was requested to speak at length on the process.
Jake Schreier told Collider, “That was a long search, and it started with Grace’s [Grace Yun, production designer] references. It definitely came from images from Hiroshima and those kinds of shadows.”
In the Thunderbolts* trailer, the Void seemingly eliminates scores of people in New York City. While other explanations and rumors about what happens to these people are circulating online and can potentially be accurate, the scenes still convincingly show the Void’s powers.
Schreier stated during the above-mentioned interview that they didn’t want to make everything in the movie to “feel like it’s CG.” He clarified that he didn’t want to give the CG team “short shrift,” explaining that it was a collaborative effort between the Thunderbolts* crew and the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic, or ILM. “We did a lot. They did a lot. The way to make great effects is to marry those two things together. I think that with that effect, it’s developed with ILM,” Schreier said.
Notably, Jake Schreier and Grace Yun have previously worked together on the Netflix comedy-drama series, Beef. Besides Thunderbolts*, ILM has also been involved in the development of several other recent projects. This includes Severance Season 2, Sinners, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Silo Season 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
Meanwhile, Thunderbolts* arrives in US theaters on May 2, 2025.
Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on SuperHeroHype.
