Marvel Studios is no stranger to shaking things up, but this latest stunt may just take the cake. In a twist that could only come from the minds behind the multiverse, Thunderbolts has undergone a surprise mid-release rebranding—sort of. Just four days after its debut, the film is being unofficially (and very publicly) referred to as The New Avengers—a nod to the film’s climactic reveal that the team’s chaotic lineup has been co-opted as Earth’s next big superhero squad.
Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts*’ Gets a Surprise Rebrand — and The New Avengers Team to Match
If you were wondering about that cheeky asterisk in Thunderbolts, you’re not alone. The mysterious symbol first appeared more than a year ago, leading to speculation about its meaning. Now, Marvel is leaning all the way in. Posters across Los Angeles are being plastered with new graphics, and Sebastian Stan himself has been seen playfully covering up the old movie title with fresh The New Avengers one-sheets. Social media, predictably, went wild.
So, has Marvel truly changed the film’s title? Not exactly. According to a studio source who spoke to Gizmodo’s Germain Lussier, it’s all part of a clever “marketing gimmick.” The official title remains Thunderbolts*, asterisk and all. But that hasn’t stopped Marvel from riding the wave of viral buzz to bolster the film’s second-weekend prospects—especially given the rave reviews critics have been doling out.
Director Jake Schreier confirmed to The New York Times that the asterisk was always part of a larger plan. “It felt like, if Val is also trying to pull a switcheroo and sell the New Avengers to the world, we could do that, too,” he explained, referencing Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s morally murky character. Schreier admitted he assumed the meaning behind the asterisk would leak earlier, but praised Marvel for rolling with it anyway: “It’s so interesting in this world… sometimes they wanted things to leak and they don’t.”
Florence Pugh and the cast of Thunderbolts* reveal the film’s actual title, ‘The New Avengers’
The idea of rebranding a movie post-release isn’t unprecedented, but Marvel’s execution—complete with in-universe logic and real-world marketing flair—adds a new layer of fan engagement. Whether it moves the needle at the box office remains to be seen, but if one thing’s clear, it’s this: Marvel knows exactly how to keep us talking.
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