‘Thunderbolts’ Director Wanted Famous Marvel Green Monster In the Movie

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No, it wasn’t the Hulk or even She-Hulk that filmmaker Jake Schreier wanted in “Thunderbolts*”. Instead, it was a Marvel monster once known as “the most startling swamp creature of them all” that Schreier wanted working with Yelena Belova and co. The “Beef” director wanted the swamp monster Man-Thing to be in “Thunderbolts*”.

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Speaking to SFX magazine (via GamesRadar), Schreier laughed, admitting, “I think there was a point during pitching when I really wanted Man-Thing to be on the team.” In spite of not getting the swamp monster to join the already eclectic crew, Schreier decided “it all worked out for the best.”

Man-Thing hasn’t been the most visible character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he is already a part of the narrative. The monster made his brief but fiery appearance in Disney+’s “Werewolf by Night” special presentation. He also had something of a cinematic debut back in the pre-MCU 2005, in the direct-to-video film “Man-Thing”.

To comic book fans, having Man-Thing in the film might even make it seem a little more familiar, i.e. comic book accurate. Of the many iterations of the Thunderbolts that have appeared in the comics, Man-Thing was a member at the same time as Ghost, who Hannah John-Kamen is playing in the film.

Along with the Man-Thing anecdote, Schreier described exactly how the members of the team in “Thunderbolts*” 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,” Schreier said. “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,” Schreier continued. “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?”

“Thunderbolts*” hits theaters May 2, 2025. The film is directed by Jake Schreier and stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Edward Price, Hannah John-Kamen, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. And, sadly, no Man-Thing.

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