THUNDERBOLTS* Director On Wanting To Use Man-Thing, Potential R-Rating, That Asterisk, And More

THUNDERBOLTS* Director On Wanting To Use Man-Thing, Potential R-Rating, That Asterisk, And More

In a new interview, Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier weighs-in on a number of topics, including the much-discussed asterisk, whether an R-rating was ever considered, and more...

By MarkCassidy - May 03, 2025 10:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Thunderbolts

There was some disappointment when the characters that would make up the team in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* were announced (many felt that the super soldier-heavy roster simply didn't feature enough variety), but director Jake Schreier recently revealed that he did originally want to shake things up by adding Man-Thing to the mix.

In a new interview with The Wrap, the filmmaker explains that "Ted" was off-limits due to his appearance in the Werewolf By Night Special Presentation, but a later draft of the Thunderbolts* script introduced Sentry, which more than made up for the lack of a swamp monster.

“I never thought about Man-Thing again,” Schreier admits. “There was so many avenues to go down. That felt like the team was locked at that point.”

Though Thunderbolts* is never particularly graphic, the story does go to dome dark places in its exploration of the crippling effects of depression. Even so, Schreier says that while there was some back and forth about "how intense" certain scenes should be, he never felt compelled to push for an R rating.

“The thing that we were very protective of is, if we were going to make a story that touched on some of these ideas, but obviously is in a summer blockbuster, the last thing that we would ever want is to make it feel reductive or preachy, or make it seem simple. That’s really where our focus went.”

As for the asterisk that was added to the title (no spoilers), Schreier reveals that it was his idea - and he was surprised Marvel got on board with it.

He suggested, “'Hey, we should do one Instagram post where we put an asterisk on the title and then say until we come up with something better.'” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D’Esposito loved the idea, and “ran with it much more than I was expecting.”

Schreier then asked if they could debut the new title in the movie’s main-on-end title sequence.

“It might be the only place you could do something like that, where there’s enough attention on the movies that you’re not worried about taking whatever the marketing spend is and then switch the title. In this world it seems like a risk you could take.”

Have you seen the movie yet? If so, what did you think? Let us know what you thought in the comments. You can check out our review here.

Marvel Studios recently announced the exciting news that Son Lux will be scoring Thunderbolts*. The three-member, American experimental band was Oscar and BAFTA- nominated for their score for 2022’s best picture, Everything Everywhere All at Once. 

In Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?

Returning to their Marvel Cinematic Universe roles are Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Hannah John-Kamen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The cast also includes newcomers to the MCU—Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer and Wendell Edward Pierce.

Jake Schreier directs Thunderbolts* with Kevin Feige producing. Louis D’Esposito, Brian Chapek and Jason Tamez serve as executive producers.

Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* opens in U.S. theaters on May 2, 2025.

THUNDERBOLTS*: First Official BTS Look At Lewis Pullman Suited-Up As Sentry Revealed
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Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 5/3/2025, 10:36 AM
I like Man-Thing, but the only problem is, how do you show him literally burning people to death in a pg-13 fashion other than some quick editing? I think it would lose it's impact pretty fast.

That said, if this team is really supposed to be the "New Avengers", is anyone else bothered how generic and underpowered they are?
rychlec
rychlec - 5/3/2025, 10:51 AM
@Feralwookiee - I did think they were going to have a couple more recruitments for end credits scene - Ant-Man, She-Hulk or maybe Shang-Chi, already established as part of the team.
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 5/3/2025, 11:11 AM
@Feralwookiee - cartel videos are pretty good editing gruesome so they can send it to the News and Twitter and still showing they are ravaging people, maybe asking el Chapo for some cinemátic advices
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/3/2025, 11:27 AM
@Feralwookiee - it’s possible wouldn’t be as detailed and gory it’s possible this is close I could pg13 ?si=Q7Bhm2BbVEwR5JFj
CaptainTriip
CaptainTriip - 5/3/2025, 11:57 AM
@Malatrova15 - not sure what you mean by this word salad but either way, maybe you got bigger problems than bad marvel movies.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 5/3/2025, 12:06 PM
@Feralwookiee - What exactly makes the team underpowered? They have three super soldiers, one phaser who can go invisible, a Black Widow assassin, and a Sentry stronger than Thor/Hulk. All they are missing is a billionaire to fund their tech and weapons.
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 5/3/2025, 12:14 PM
@CaptainTriip - well Im trapped in a failed state ..,what do you think?,
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 5/3/2025, 12:15 PM
@SonOfAGif - maybe not underpowered ….but boring and redundant
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 5/3/2025, 12:18 PM
@dragon316 - So she WAS a witch!
GodHercules20
GodHercules20 - 5/3/2025, 1:24 PM
@Feralwookiee - Sentry solo
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 5/3/2025, 7:58 PM
@Malatrova15 - Oooh.
You just gave me a new web search idea for my weekend!
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 5/3/2025, 8:00 PM
@SonOfAGif - I wasn't aware that Sentry actually joins in the movie. Disregard then. 😜
AllsGood
AllsGood - 5/3/2025, 10:46 AM
Marvel Studios needs to make a Man-Thing movie. I always enjoyed reading the comic book.

I actually owned the comic book.

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rychlec
rychlec - 5/3/2025, 11:27 AM
@AllsGood - I still hope he shows up for a scene in Secret Wars, guarding the Nexus of All Realities.
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/3/2025, 11:28 AM
@AllsGood - him and swamp thing are not popular as they should be
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 5/3/2025, 12:07 PM
@AllsGood - I think he will be the one to find the Scarlet Witch drifting in the Nexus of all realities and he pulls her out of her stasis.
A2ron
A2ron - 5/3/2025, 11:58 AM
I loved Thunderbolts. It’s easily in my top 10 Marvel films.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/3/2025, 12:08 PM
Reading that full interview is fun…

I know a lot is said about Marvel Studios restrictions or such but almost every director including Schreier have pretty much said they value collaboration so while it’s never going to be one persons undeterred vision , they are willing to listen to their ideas and help implement them if they agree which is great imo.

This movie seems like Schreier’s sensibilities through & through as he brought on his fellow Beef collaborator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo to work on the script and have these darker & more emotional themes which I’m glad Marvel approved of since it helps the movie stand out and is said to be one of the highlights…

Them not having Sentry for example initially seems like it was a Marvel Studios decision to include him later which then benefitted Schreier since it could build the movie around the mental health themes that he wanted.
GodHercules20
GodHercules20 - 5/3/2025, 1:35 PM
Sentry vs Man Thing in live action

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POWERDUDE
POWERDUDE - 5/3/2025, 3:29 PM
@MarkCassidy - there’s a typo near the beginning, dome instead of some. Just thought I’d give you a heads up brother.👍

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