by Brett White
Yesterday, "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn revealed via his Formspring page that there are three other comic book properties he'd be interested in getting his hands on: "We3," "Hit-Monkey," and "Thunderbolts." While this talk was in no way an announcement or even an indicator of what's to come, I can't even begin to explain how awesome it would be to see a James Gunn adaptation of "Thunderbolts."
"Thunderbolts" began way back in 1997, the brainchild of writer Kurt Busiek and artist Mark Bagley. While they were initially marketed and presented as a new superhero team, the first issue's big twist ending revealed that they were actually the Masters of Evil in disguise! The series, which has been around in one incarnation or another ever since, has become the home for Marvel's many underused—and underappreciated—villains and minor characters as they either try to become superheroes... or are forced to become superheroes.
A big screen Thunderbolts film could be a natural progression for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially if "Guardians of the Galaxy" proves that audiences are a-okay with meeting whole teams at once as opposed to one at a time in solo films. And if "Guardians" is a hit, then Gunn could have carte blanche to pick his next project, thus giving the offbeat Thunderbolts the go-ahead. The Thunderbolts crew as depicted by writer Jeff Parker and artists Kev Walker and Declan Shalvey actually has a lot in common with the Guardians gang. Both are teams made up of characters that even casual comic book fans have never heard of, and both series rely as heavily on humor as they do on action.
Gunn's other two picks would make interesting films as well. Hit-Monkey is a relatively obscure Marvel character who is exactly what he sounds like: a monkey that is an assassin of assassins. Gunn's already working with a raccoon in "Guardians," so he may not flinch when presented with a non-human lead character.
And if he wants to triple his animal fun, he can take on "We3," the comic based on a trio of animals turned into war machines by the government who break free of captivity in the hopes of finding home. Imagine "Homeward Bound" with a lot more bullets and even more tears. A film adaptation of "We3" has been in the works for years and had both a finished script and director lined up—at least that was the case back in 2009.
Again, none of this amounts to anything more than a director's wishlist, but these are wishes we wouldn't mind seeing come true.
