THUNDERBOLTS* Writer Eric Pearson Reveals Scrapped Plans For Red Hulk, Man-Thing, And Goliath

THUNDERBOLTS* Writer Eric Pearson Reveals Scrapped Plans For Red Hulk, Man-Thing, And Goliath

Thunderbolts* writer Eric Pearson has revealed that Red Hulk, Man-Thing, and Bill Foster/Goliath were all set to factor into the movie at one time or another, and shares intel on their respective roles.

By JoshWilding - May 06, 2025 12:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Thunderbolts
Source: ComicBook.com

It's common for a superhero movie to go through multiple iterations before cameras roll and, in some instances, they can change completely during production (see: Captain America: Brave New World). 

Thunderbolts* writer Eric Pearson has been doing the rounds to promote the movie and, in an interview with ComicBook.com, revealed some of the ideas he dropped during the early writing stages. 

We learned yesterday that U.S. Agent was once Thunderbolts*'s big bad, with John Walker undergoing a Hulk-like transformation. Pearson, however, was eager to unleash the Red Hulk. 

"There was a point where I wanted Red Hulk to be the villain and [Marvel Studios] said, 'No,'" the writer confirmed. "I was annoyed and now I’m happy. The Sentry is the perfect person [for the villain role]. Any time you think you have it figured out and they tell you that you can’t do it, you are annoyed."

Pearson went on to say that, "There was a draft or two where Bucky was not involved, and there was a draft or two where Bill Foster was involved."

"Ava’s surrogate father, he comes in with [a role] bigger than a cameo and has a Goliath kind of moment and joins the team towards the end. I think there was something with two old guys, [Foster] and [Alexei], who are not exactly fathers, but acting as fathers."

"I forget why that was pulled out. Probably because he didn’t have the same background trauma that these other characters had, which was the unifying theme," he added. 

Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier recently revealed that he considered Man-Thing very early on, and Pearson shed new light on how the Werewolf by Night character was set to factor into the movie. 

"Man-Thing, being an agent or some evidence that Valentina wanted to destroy," he explained. "He is such an unpredictable creature. It kinda didn’t fit and we couldn’t figure out a way that made sense. And you look at Man-Thing and you are like, 'What the hell is that?' We already had Bob, who was, 'What the hell is that?'" 

"If you are dealing with Bob, why the hell is this normal-looking guy here versus this swamp monster? You are going to spend a lot of your time looking at the swamp monster as opposed to Bob, who needed a lot of attention because we needed to use that real estate between Bob waking up and Bob realizing he is the strongest thing that exists in the universe," the writer concluded. 

We've learned a great deal about what Thunderbolts* might have been, but it's hard to shake the feeling that the movie we watched in theaters this weekend was the best possible version of this story.

"Thunderbolts* redefines superhero storytelling to deliver a moving and powerful story that does for the 'Multiverse Saga' what The Avengers did for the 'Infinity Saga' in 2012," we said in our review. "These heroes have earned their place on a Wheaties box."

Thunderbolts* is now playing in theaters. 

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Battinson
Battinson - 5/6/2025, 12:37 PM
Would've been cool to see Red Hulk again
TheLobster
TheLobster - 5/6/2025, 12:43 PM
My only gripe with this film was the origin of the name of Thunderbolts - should have involved Thunderbolt or else call it something else.
cadunovaes01
cadunovaes01 - 5/6/2025, 12:47 PM
Man-Thing, Red Hulk, even Werewolf by Night could be great aditions to this good movie
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/6/2025, 12:55 PM
@cadunovaes01 - that could be interesting but I would rather Werewolf by Night & Man Thing join the Midnight Sons if any team.
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 5/6/2025, 12:51 PM
They should scrap plans for Sam to be Captain America and the movie would be watchable
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 5/6/2025, 1:04 PM
@Malatrova15 - why?
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 5/6/2025, 1:05 PM
@Malatrova15 - what do you even mean?
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 5/6/2025, 1:17 PM
@slickrickdesigns - Well Just imagine Bucky as Captain America …or even better …Jhon Walker
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 5/6/2025, 1:40 PM
@Malatrova15 - I can’t imagine either one of them making that exact movie better just by interchanging Sam’s Cap with Bucky as Cap or the already failed at Captain America John Walker in the movie.

Could I see Bucky playing a decent Cap? Yes. But i don’t see Stan or Russel being better leads as Captain America.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/6/2025, 12:54 PM
Interesting…

I’m assuming Red Hulk was shot down because he was already set for BNW thus he couldn’t be in this which I’m fine with tbh though I say that as someone who enjoyed Cap 4.

However if we do get another “official” Thunderbolts movie in the future then I hope it’s similar to this…

User Comment Image

Bill Foster could have been cool but I understand the reasoning as why he wasn’t there though it could have been nice to have Ghost mention to Yelena about having her own father figure like the latter
has with Alexei which could have been a nice way for them to bond.

Anyway given the final version themes of mental heath , Sentry or The Void really did end up being the best “villain” for it.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 5/6/2025, 1:02 PM
I really did think we were going to get a Red Hulk surprise cameo in Thunderbolts or at least Thunderbolt Ross saying something along the lines of “You call yourself the Thunderbolts? That’s stupid.” (Harrison Fords voice)

Hindsight 20/25.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 5/6/2025, 1:06 PM
“ They should scrap plans for Sam to be Captain America and the movie would be watchable”

What does that even mean?
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 5/6/2025, 1:15 PM
Save Red Hulk for the future, we just had him in BNW. Man-Thing, while I really want him back, wouldnt have fit here. I think Goliath would have been great though, shame he didnt get at least a cameo.

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