WARNING: Spoilers for Thunder Force.
Thunder Force may not be a critical hit, but Jason Bateman's character still deserves his own movie. Jerry the Crab plays a minor role in the 2021 Netflix movie, as he's a half-human who doesn't have any superpowers like his fellow villains, the Miscreants. Thunder Force stars Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer as superheroes who defend Chicago against said Miscreants, but writer-director Ben Falcone doesn't fully commit to the bit with his premise and comedic execution. Fortunately, the crabman Jerry emerges as the film's silver lining, and could potentially be the main protagonist for Thunder Force 2.
Bateman shows up sporadically in Thunder Force for comedic relief. Whereas the two leads are passionate about fighting crime and Mayoral candidate William "The King" Stevens (Bobby Cannavale) is passionate about acquiring power, The Crab is a leather jacket-wearing local who's just trying to live his best life, much like Lydia "The Hammer" Berman (McCarthy). During a restaurant scene, Jerry shows a tender side while having dinner with his superhero love interest, especially when revealing that he was bitten in the genitals by a radioactive crab over a poisoned coral reef. Thunder Force ends with The Crab and The Hammer forging ahead with their relationship and quite literally sharing a meal together.
Related: Thunder Force Poked Fun At Spider-Man's Silly Secret Identity Trope
The Crab deserves his own superhero movie because of Bateman's mastery of deadpan humor. He plays off McCarthy perfectly, and arguably steals each scene with his ability to be at once charming and sleazy. Jerry comes across like a blue-collar, hard-working Chicagoan, with the tragedy being that he's forced into an unideal lifestyle because of his scaly crab arms and pincers. Thematically, Jerry's plight could indeed work as a Saturday Night Live bit (and maybe it will in the future); however, Bateman's career résumé implies that he could carry an entire film, whether it's a traditional 90-minute comedy like Thunder Force or a shorter horror-themed feature like the 2020 film Host. Some audiences may know Bateman for portraying the smug Michael Bluth in Arrested Development, while modern Netflix streamers know him as Marty Byrde, the Chicago native who gets in over his head with the Mexican cartel in Ozark. In Thunder Force, Bateman seemingly combines the two characters for a human crab mashup.
Thunder Force 2 featuring Jerry the Crab could work by incorporating various genre elements. There's already a superhero premise in place, however the sequel could explore Jerry's everyday experiences, with the comedy deriving from the surrealistic nature of his existence. McCarthy could reprise her role and even co-headline, but the story would theoretically explore Jerry's physical crisis and the constant horror of feeling inadequate in a city full of proper superheroes. What does Jerry want? Based on his romance with The Hammer in Thunder Force, he just wants to be appreciated for who he is: a kind-hearted half crab, half-human who can occasionally be snarky. As a performer, Bateman has that rare talent to be simultaneously smug and charming; a quality that Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig embraced for their recurring "Two A-Holes" bit on Saturday Night Live. Jerry the Crab is extremely likable in Thunder Force, but his demeanor also implies that he might've been somewhat of a prick in the past.
Bateman once stated that he could be "naturally... dickish" like his Arrested Development character, Michael Bluth (per the season 1 pilot commentary). In a Jerry the Crab movie - whether it's Thunder Force 2 or a stand-alone comedy - he could embrace that same smug energy while still being incredibly endearing. Ben Falcone wrote an exceptionally unique individual with Bateman's Thunder Force character, and perhaps he could enlist one of the industry's best comedy writers for a Jerry the Crab movie. The premise could be just weird enough for a post-COVID world of streamers, and Bateman's existing fanbase ensures that Netflix audiences would tune in. Given that Thunder Force is such a dud, though, Falcone will probably want to avoid those two words in a Jerry the Crab movie title.