Director Jake Schreier has one regret about a character who was cut from his MCU film, Thunderbolts*. The Phase 5 superhero film featured the return of several villains and antiheroes from different corners of the MCU. The final Thunderbolts* roster changed from the lineups in Marvel Comics, but one iteration of the film would've seen an unexpected character join the team.
Schreier revealed earlier that Man-Thing was once included in the original pitch for Thunderbolts*, which would have added the supernatural monster to the list of misunderstood villains that included Ghost, US Agent, Taskmaster, Yelena Belova, and Winter Soldier. Speaking to The Wrap, Schreier revealed his one regret about Man-Thing was ever considering including the character at all. The director said the character "wouldn't have fit with the movie we ended up making," and that he regretted mentioning the idea publicly:
Schreier: "I regret ever saying Man-Thing, because it wouldn’t have fit with the movie we ended up making. No, I feel really good about the movie that we made. And I feel like there are always things that you could do better, for sure. I can point out the moments where I didn’t do as good a job as some of the other ones, but I think that we always tried hard and we took a swing."
Man-Thing was prevented from being included in the Phase 5 film as he was already earmarked for a debut in the 2022 TV special Werewolf By Night. While Thunderbolts* could still have offered Man-Thing a place to reappear in the MCU, Schreier quickly moved on to consider other characters for his Thunderbolts roster, and the director seems to have no issues with the swamp monster being left behind in the concept phase.
Thunderbolts* was released in cinemas on May 2, 2025, and is now streaming on Disney+. The Phase 5 MCU film, directed by Schreier, stars Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, and Lewis Pullman.
Thunderbolts Was Right to Abandon Man-Thing
While Man-Thing certainly falls into the gray area of misunderstood heroes that Thunderbolts* plays with, the character would have stood out sorely among the lineup.
Man-Thing was a great inclusion in Werewolf By Night, as that film dealt specifically with supernatural characters in the same realm, like Elsa Bloodstone and Jack Russell. Thunderbolts*, on the other hand, was more grounded and dealt with street-level heroes as opposed to supernatural or cosmic entities, meaning Man-Thing wouldn't have truly fit into the ensemble.
Should Thunderbolts* have gone a more sci-fi route, similar to Guardians of the Galaxy or even DC's The Suicide Squad, Man-Thing could have filled a role on the team like that of Groot or King Shark. But in the end, Marvel Studios opted for a more grounded take on the team that would go on to be unceremoniously crowned the New Avengers.
This doesn't mean that Marvel's plans for Man-Thing are over, and the character could have significant ramifications for the future of the MCU.
