There was some disappointment when the characters that would make up the team in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* were announced (many felt that there simply wasn't enough variety), but if director Jake Schreier had got his way early on, the roster would have looked a lot different thanks to the addition of a certain Marvel Comics monster.
While speaking to SFX Magazine (via Games Radar), Schreier revealed that he "really wanted" Man-Thing - who made his MCU debut in the 2022 Werewolf By Night Special Presentation - to be a part of the team.
"I think there was a point during pitching when I really wanted Man-Thing to be on the team," but "it all worked out for the best."
The filmmaker went on to explain how the antiheroes that make up the final team were chosen.
"It was about looking through the MCU and not just finding bad guys who could be good but characters that exist more on that morally grey plane or who were potentially destined for something else but then something went awry. Or maybe they're just misunderstood, someone like John Walker, where he was literally Captain America."
"Maybe there is something that is worth caring about," he added. "I think all of them have kind of lost touch with that idea. At first through sheer necessity, because of the situation that they're thrown into together, but then later more out of inspiration, as a group could they become something bigger than each of themselves could be on their own?"
We haven't seen Man-Thing or Gael García Bernal's Jack Russell since the events of Werewolf By Night, but they are both expected to return at some point. There have been rumors that they could be a part of the Midnight Sons team, but nothing has been officially announced relating to that project.
We recently got confirmation that the next MCU movie has a fairly standard runtime of 2 hours, 6 minutes, and updated box office estimates predict that Thunderbolts* will take in between $63 million - $77 million domestically over the course of its opening weekend.
This wouldn't be a bad result for a movie with a (relatively) modest budget of $180M (minus additional costs), especially when you take into account that Thunderbolts* is a fairly obscure property without any major A-list stars (Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan are by far the biggest names).
The main cast of the movie (minus Olga Kurylenko) were confirmed to return for Avengers: Doomsday during Marvel's recent live-stream.
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.