'Thunderbolts*' has 2 end-credits scenes — here's what they mean for future Marvel movies

Business Insider

01-05-2025

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Thunderbolts*."
If you head to the theater to watch Marvel's " Thunderbolts*" this weekend, you'll want to stick around until the very end after all the credits have rolled.
"Thunderbolts*" brings together a dysfunctional group of characters previously introduced in other Marvel films and TV shows: Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), John Walker/US Agent (Wyatt Russell), and Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko).
After getting into a death trap purposely set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the ragtag crew minus Taskmaster, who is killed by Ghost, narrowly escapes. Then, they embark on a mission to rescue Bob (Lewis Pullman), a man who has gained unparalleled powers because of an experimental lab procedure called Project Sentry. As his own inner darkness, known as the Void, tries to take over, the Thunderbolts support Bob and remind him that he's not alone.
Once the Thunderbolts have prevented Bob from succumbing to the Void, they try to chase down Val, who has another trick up her sleeve.
In the final scene, Val leads the group into a press conference, where she claims that she's been working behind the scenes for years to develop a new kind of protection: the New Avengers, aka the Thunderbolts crew — hence why the movie's title contains an asterisk at the end.
The attendees cheer and clap, while the Thunderbolts look on confused. Then Yelena whispers to Val, "We own you now."
The film ends with a close-up of Yelena smiling, and the Avengers theme can be heard playing faintly.
After the main credits are shown, the Thunderbolts* logo switches to "The New Avengers" in a bold yellow font, ushering in a new era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The mid-credits scene features Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian enjoying his fame
Early in the movie, Alexei tells his adoptive daughter Yelena that he was truly happy when he was serving his country, saving people, and being adored like a god.
The mid-credits scene is a playful extension of that, showing his delight at being part of the revamped Avengers.
In the scene, Alexei approaches a mother who's in the cereal aisle of a grocery store.
"Wow, so many choices," Alexei says before highlighting the boxes of Wheaties featuring the New Avengers on the packaging.
"That's me on the box," he says.
The woman, not interested in buying the cereal, takes the box from Alexei anyway, pushes her shopping cart, and leaves the product behind on a shelf before scurrying away.
The scene ends, and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship plays as the film's full credits roll.
The end-credits scene teases the arrival of the Fantastic Four
The end-credits scene is set 14 months later, with the Thunderbolts at what appears to be their new headquarters. They primarily talk about how Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who took over the mantle of Captain America with Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) blessing, has filed for a copyright for the Avengers.
Yelena says that she's confused because if Sam is assembling his own version of the Avengers, but the Thunderbolts are the new Avengers team, who are the real Avengers?
Alexei then proposes a workaround — calling themselves the Avengerz — to avoid getting sued. He shows the team a new, colorful, but tacky-looking superhero suit that he says is as smooth as a baby seal.
Yelena mentions a "huge space crisis," and Bob, who's chosen to keep his powers at bay to prevent another disaster, is reading a book in the corner of the room.
"I did the dishes, though," Bob says, reminding them that he's still of use.
They're interrupted by a beeping alert indicating that an unidentified aircraft is entering orbit. Then the team looks at a massive screen and sees an extra-dimensional ship flying through space with the number 4 on it — aka the Fantastic Four. Michael Giacchino's " Fantastic Four: First Steps" main theme song also plays.
The scene ends with text that reads: "The New Avengers and Bob will return."
The scene also sets up 'Avengers: Doomsday'
The "Thunderbolts*" end-credits scene doesn't really break new ground, but it's slightly more satisfying than the scene featured at the conclusion of " Captain America: Brave New World."
As the MCU has expanded with a mix of films and TV shows, some connective tissue has been missing. Now, as Marvel Studios has scaled back its sheer volume of projects, it's a lot easier to see the direction the vast universe is headed in.
The end-credits scene directly sets up the next and final MCU movie releasing this year, the reboot of " Fantastic Four" starring Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing.
It also indicates that Marvel's First Family is entering the main MCU timeline. The Thunderbolts* team's talk of who gets the title of the Avengers is a subtle way of alluding to who will be part of the next big team-up film: Avengers: Doomsday.
The movie is set for release on May 1, 2026 and stars returning Marvel superstar Robert Downey Jr., ditching his Iron Man suit to play the iconic villain Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom.
Marvel recently revealed the partial list of cast members joining Downey via a five-hour livestream stunt. Among them are "Thunderbolts*" stars Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Florence Pugh, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour, and Hannah John-Kamen.
Another ensemble film, "Avengers: Secret Wars," will be released on May 7, 2027. Both "Avengers" movies, which are part of the Multiverse Saga, will be codirected by sibling duo Joe and Anthony Russo.
"Thunderbolts*" is now playing in theaters.