THUNDERBOLTS* Director Wanted to Bring in Man-Thing to the MCU Team, but Marvel Had Other Plans

In a recent interview, Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier opened up about one very monstrous idea he had while putting the team together, and it involved a certain swamp-dwelling, horror-soaked fan favorite character… Man-Thing.

While speaking with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar+), Schreier shared, “I think there was a point during pitching when I really wanted Man-Thing to be on the team.” Now that’s a character I didn’t expect to for the Thunderbolts, but I like the idea!

Ultimately, Marvel Studios had different plans. Instead of debuting alongside the likes of Yelena Belova and Bucky Barnes, Man-Thing made his MCU entrance in 2022’s Werewolf by Night special, and Schreier admits that move probably made the most sense, saying it “worked out for the best.”

Still, the version of Thunderbolts* we’re getting isn’t short on intriguing characters, antiheroes who live in that sweet morally gray middle. According to Schreier, that was always the vibe. He added:

“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.”

That central theme of broken people coming together to form something meaningful is baked into the story. Schreier continued:

“Maybe there is something that is worth caring about. 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?”

Set to hit theaters May 2, 2025, Thunderbolts* brings together Florence Pugh’s Yelena, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, and Lewis Pullman’s Sentry.

And while we won’t see Man-Thing on this team, the idea of him hulking around with this crew is just the kind of MCU “what if” that has sparked my imagination.