Marvel Spoils Itself: Why Is 'Thunderbolts' Changing Its Title a Week After Its Premiere?

Marvel Studios has surprised fans by changing the title of its new film, Thunderbolts*, just a week after its release. The unexpected name change not only affectsMarvel 's posters and official channels, but also re-contextualizes all pre-promotion for the film directed by Jake Schreier.

From edited trailers to digitally manipulated scenes used to hide significant deaths, Thunderbolts* has been revealed as an elaborate smokescreen. Before its release, some posters revealed that the asterisk in the title referred to "The Avengers are unavailable," but a final strategic move by the studio itself changed everything on May 5th, just five days after its theatrical release.

Since then, official Marvel and Disney networks have begun replacing the name Thunderbolts* with The New Avengers , using the asterisk as a nod to a long-delayed truth: the antiheroes led by Yelena Belova ( Florence Pugh ) and Bucky Barnes ( Sebastian Stan ) were not simply a dysfunctional group, but the official successors to the Avengers . The film's post-credits scene, with Valentina Allegra's character (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) introducing them to the press, confirms this.

While the film grossed $162 million in its opening weekend, this twist could further boost box office results , fueling interest in a tie-in to the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday . Stan, Pugh, and David Harbour are already confirmed for that upcoming installment. Marvel has not only played with audience expectations but has also redefined its narrative with postmodern marketing, sparking debate about the limits of spoilers , even when it's the studio itself that's causing them.

What seemed like a promotional strategy has become a key revelation: solving the mystery of the asterisk that accompanied the original title. This move, which has generated controversy by anticipating the final twist just days after the premiere, is part of an elaborate campaign that has hidden, and at the same time sown, clues about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.