⚡ Exclusive Thunderbolts* Interview Reveals Marvel Secrets

It’s wild how movies can completely transform during the development process! There are plenty of films over the years that have changed drastically from page to screen, but not many completely swapped out their protagonist or antagonist as was the case in Thunderbolts* — you can read more about that below in our feature story, in which co-writer Eric Pearson talks about who the main characters were originally.

In early drafts of Back to the Future, for example, the time machine was a refrigerator, not a DeLorean. More importantly, Doc Brown was a far more sinister and ambiguous figure — almost an antagonist in some drafts. The first X-Men movie in 2000 could have featured a teenage Jubilee or Kitty Pryde as the point-of-view character, and Magneto almost had to share the spotlight with other villains.

You just never know how the writers (or executives for that matter) might change their minds as things progress!

— Michael Ahr, Newsletter Editor

IN THIS ISSUE

• Our interview with Thunderbolts* writer Eric Pearson ⚡

• A movie recommendation for Donald Trump in the age of tariffs 📜

• Analysis of the latest Squid Game teaser 🦑

• …and more!