James Gunn Wants To Direct A Thunderbolts Movie For Marvel

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige must be pretty happy with what James Gunn has done with Guardians of the Galaxy, because all signs point toward the director staying under the Marvel roof for the foreseeable future. Gunn recently explained that he’s willing to return for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 if the first proves successful, and told Badass Digest that he’s already signed on to direct another Marvel film (which some have speculated may in fact be Avengers 3).

In a new interview with ScreenRant, Gunn didn’t address the Avengers 3 rumors, but did express his interest in bringing another risky superhero team to the big screen: The Thunderbolts. When asked if he’d be able to direct Thunderbolts if Guardians was successful, Gunn said:

“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.”

As I said, Feige must be very confident in Gunn if he’s willing to give the director a bit of autonomy when it comes to choosing his next project. We know that Feige has the Marvel Cinematic Universe planned out for years to come (and even has release dates set for six unannounced films), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a bit of wiggle room when it comes to bringing in new properties.

For those unfamiliar, the Thunderbolts are a team of reformed super-villains, similar to DC’s Suicide Squad or the X-Men team known as X-Force. Their roster has changed a bit over the years, with members like Punisher, Deadpool, Venom, Hawkeye, Radioactive Man, Bullseye, Green Goblin, Black Widow, Crossbones, Juggernaut, Elektra, and Red Hulk joining the ranks.

Adapting the property may be tricky considering Marvel doesn’t own the rights to characters like Venom or Deadpool, but there are plenty of other villains Gunn could choose from. Plus, a Thunderbolts film might be a great way to introduce characters like Punisher or Ghost Rider, who have proven to be risky bets in their own films but could easily work in a team-up movie.

We’ll see just how successful a villain-centric film can be when Sony’s Sinister Six hits theaters in 2016. Perhaps if that’s a runaway success, Feige will make good on his promise and give Gunn permission to bring the Thunderbolts to the big screen.

Tell us, would you like to see a Thunderbolts movie from James Gunn? Which villains would you like to see included? Let us know in the comments below!