Spoiler alert! Marvel gives 'Thunderbolts*' a new title in unique marketing strategy

USA Today

05-05-2025

Spoiler alert! Marvel gives 'Thunderbolts*' a new title in unique marketing strategy
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell talk 'Thunderbolts*'
Sebastian Stan and Wyatt Russell tell USA TODAY what it was like returning to the Marvel family in 'Thunderbolts*.'
Surprise! The latest Marvel film is no longer called "Thunderbolts*" in a new, spoiler-filled marketing push from the studio.
In an unusual move, Marvel has started to rebrand its movie "Thunderbolts*" under a different name, "The New Avengers," just three days after it hit theaters.
The Florence Pugh-led movie was advertised with an asterisk as part of its official title, and in the final scene, its lead group of heroes is given the name The New Avengers. During the credits, the title card "Thunderbolts*" is then replaced by "The New Avengers," implying this was the real title all along.
Now, Marvel has started changing the name of the film in various places, including on its social media accounts, to reflect this. On May 5, the studio shared a video on X showing Pugh, surrounded by her co-stars, ripping off a layer of the "Thunderbolts*" poster to reveal the "New Avengers" title underneath.
"New Avengers!" the cast shouts in the video, only for a shushing sound to be heard because the clip was presumably being recorded before the movie's release.
"The secret is out," Marvel said in another X post featuring the new version of the poster with the updated title.
The official X accounts for IMAX, Dolby and Fandango all shared new posters with the "New Avengers" title, as well, and a poster with the altered name replaced the original "Thunderbolts*" one on Fandango so moviegoers will see it when purchasing tickets.
The "New Avengers" name also replaced the "Thunderbolts* title on at least one billboard, and Marvel even shared a video showing star Sebastian Stan walking up to a bus stop to personally swap out the old poster with the new one.
Spoilers! 'Thunderbolts*' ending, post-credits scene sets up 'Avengers 5'
This marked a rare instance of Marvel, which is known for its secrecy, openly spoiling the end of one of its own films within days of release.
"Thunderbolts*" debuted with $76 million at the domestic box office. This was considered a solid opening, though a movie with "Avengers" in its title would be expected to have a far larger start. The question is now whether the title tweak will give the film a boost in ticket sales by attracting attention from casual fans who could be enticed by the "Avengers" connection.
Thunderbolts*' star Lewis Pullman wants a 'Doomsday' faceoff with RDJ
The ending of "Thunderbolts*" establishes that The New Avengers is now a team consisting of Yelena Belova (Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Stan), Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen) and Bob (Lewis Pullman).
But a post-credits scene reveals that the New Avengers are engaged in a copyright dispute over the Avengers name with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), a.k.a. Captain America, who is forming his own Avengers team. That conflict is expected to lead into "Avengers: Doomsday," which stars most of the cast of "Thunderbolts*" and hits theaters in May 2026.