This article contains spoilers for Thunderbolts*
Hopefully, you caughtThunderboltsover the weekend, because if you didn’t, the film’s big surprise moment has probably already been spoiled for you. WhenThunderboltswent into production, an asterisk was added to the film’s title, sending fans into a theorizing frenzy for over a year. It seemed like a smart way to generate interest in a movie that, when it was first announced, many fans were skeptical of, given that the roster largely consisted of C-list characters from across the MCU that some audience members might have forgotten about.
Kevin Feige said the true meaning of the asterisk would be revealed when the movie came out, andin the film’s final moments, it is shown that the team is actuallyThe New Avengers.The end-credits logo peels back theThunderboltsfont to a big, boldNew Avengerslogo, and the film concludes with “The New Avengers and Bob Will Return.” Three days after the film opened in theaters,Marvel Studios is now giving away the big reveal. Various posters and billboards have torn away theThunderboltstitle to revealThe New Avengers. While the reveal of The New Avengers was bound to get out, it certainly feels odd that Marvel Studios didn’t want to wait two to three weeks to do this, as they had done on spoilers forAvengers: Infinity War,Avengers: Endgame, andSpider-Man: No Way Home.
Thunderbolts*
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Part of the Built-in Marketing Campaign for ‘Thunderbolts*’
While some fans might be annoyed at Marvel Studios revealing the meaning behind the asterisk in the film’s opening weekend, it was clear that this was always part of the marketing campaign the film had devised.Kevin Feige said the true meaning would be revealedafter the film came out, and he did keep his word. Technically, MCU fans were at least partially aware of this. The video that Marvel Studios released, of the cast ripping off theThunderbolts*title on the poster to revealThe New Avengerslogo, was filmed at the movie’s Los Angeles premiere, meaning they knew they would upload this video soon.
This is also the first time the MCU has done something like this. Previous “spoiler embargoes” that Marvel Studios had done for two weeks were for significant plot developments in films likeAvengers: Infinity War,Avengers: Endgame, andSpider-Man: No Way Home. But unveiling a stealth title for a movie hasn’t been done before by the MCU or any other studio. It raises the question: What is the appropriate grace period for something like this?
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The closest thing to this was when Warner Bros. decided to rebrandBirds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)asHarley Quinn: Birds of Preydue to the film underperformingat the box office.Edge of Tomorrowwas rebranded asLive Die Repeatwhen the film went to home video.Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoninghas sincedroppedPart 1from its titlefollowing the decision to rename the next filmMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. In all those cases, those rebrands were done following a disappointing box office turnout. YetThunderbolts*had this built in from the get-go, though maybe the decision to do it so soon might have a box office component.
‘The New Avengers’ Could Increase Box Office Profits
Thunderboltsopened to $76 millionat the domestic box office. While that certainly is low by the massive standards of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in terms of the first weekend in May, it is still an impressive opening weekend for a team most general audiences have not heard of. The biggest A-list characters are Bucky Barnes and maybe Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh is likely a bigger star than her character).Thunderboltsis the third-biggest opening weekend of 2025, behindA Minecraft MovieandCaptain America: Brave New World. Getting a $76 million opening weekend off a title likeThunderbolts*certainly shows the strength of the Marvel brand, as other studios and properties have struggled to cross $50 million.
Yet Disney and Marvel Studios might see this new splashy marketing campaign fromThunderboltstoThe New Avengersas a way to increase box office numbers. The audience who was going to rush out and seeThunderboltslikely already went, so Marvel Studios seems to be courting an audience who might have been more on the fence or an even general audience who doesn’t know who theThunderbolts*are.The Avengers is a brand name that audiences recognize, so if they see a poster forThe New Avengers, they might be more inclined to see the film. Yes, it does spoil the moment, but sometimes a spoiler can help get audiences into seats.
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Would keeping Spider-Man out of the marketing forCaptain America: Civil Warentirely be cool, so audiences could be surprised when he showed up? Absolutely. Yet there is no denying that the trailer forCaptain America: Civil War,which ended with Spider-Man, likely drew a lot of audience members to the movie in the first place because “Spider-Man meets the Avengers” is a strong marketing pitch. Now,The New AvengersallowsThunderbolts*to have a second marketing push, one going into the next two weeks at the box office. Positive word of mouth will undoubtedly help it take the number 1 spot at the Mother’s Day weekend box office, but could thisNew Avengersrebrand allow it tohold offFinal Destination: Bloodlinesfor the number 1 spot on May 16? It has a fighting chance now.
The Battle Against Spoilers on Social Media
Marvel Studios' decision to revealThunderboltstrue title asNew Avengersjust three days after it opened in theaters can be said to be too soon and probably could have held off for another week.Marvel obsessively weaponized the fear of something “being spoiled"to draw audiences to the movie’s opening weekend.Avengers: Endgame,Spider-Man: No Way Home, andDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesswere built around possibly big reveals that audiences wouldn’t want to miss because everyone would be talking about them, and they wouldn’t want to be spoiled. So why give awayThunderboltsasThe New Avengers?
The issue is, now that the film is out there, audiences know The New Avengers is what the team is called. Multiple online camera recordings of the film’s post-credit scene identify them as The New Avengers. Plenty of articles have already been written aboutthe team’s real name. No matter how hard one might try to avoid spoilers, they are now out there, and specific individuals certainly have no problem giving away the reveal. At least with this rebranding, Marvel Studios can control the narrative.
It might be disappointing, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t take away fromThunderboltsbeing a good movie and one worth watching beyond the big New Avengers reveal.Thunderbolts/The New Avengersis currently in theaters.
