If early buzz and reviews are any indication, director James Gunn has hit it out of the park with Guardians of the Galaxy, which has seemingly earned him a bit of autonomy over at Marvel Studios. He told Badass Digest that he’s already signed on for another Marvel film, and is willing to return for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 if the first film is a success.
Some fans are speculating that Gunn could direct The Avengers 3, but he’s actually set his sights on another Marvel property: The Thunderbolts. In an interview with ScreenRant, Gunn was asked if he’d be allowed to make a Thunderbolts film if Guardians of the Galaxy were a hit, which prompted this interesting response:
“Thunderbolts? I will tell you, one time I was saying to Kevin [Feige], we are sitting on set together on one of the days he visited and I said, ‘ You know, I really want to make Thunderbolts,’ and he said, ‘James, if Guardians does well you’ll be able to do whatever you want so we’ll see what happens.”
The Thunderbolts are a team of reformed super-villains, with a rotating roster that has included such characters as Elektra, Punisher, Crossbones, Ghost Rider, Green Goblin, Venom, Deadpool, Radioactive Man, Bullseye, Black Widow, Juggernaut, and Red Hulk. Of course, Marvel doesn’t own the rights to all of those characters, but there are plenty of villains in the comics and the MCU that could be brought into a Thunderbolts film. In fact, that would be a great way to bring characters like Punisher or Ghost Rider back to the big screen and into the MCU, without the studio having to greenlight risky solo films.
So, the potential for a Thunderbolts film is there, as well as a proven Marvel film director with a desire to make it happen. All that’s missing is the greenlight from Kevin Feige, who seemed surprisingly nonchalant about letting Gunn do it.
Tell us, would you like to see James Gunn direct a Thunderbolts film? Sound off in the comments!
Originally published July 24, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
