Marvel Studios rolled out its 36th film last week with Thunderbolts* (2025), the latest ensemble entry in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Directed by Jake Schreier, the film hit theaters on May 1, reuniting a lineup of returning antiheroes. Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier lead the charge, joined by Hannah John-Kamen’s Ava Starr/Ghost, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker/U.S. Agent, David Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Olga Kurylenko’s Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Geraldine Viswanathan makes her MCU debut as Mel.
The opening weekend saw a solid $74 million domestic debut, with global earnings climbing to $173 million—an encouraging start for one of Marvel’s more unconventional team-ups.
Fans had speculated for months about the asterisk in the film’s title—Thunderbolts*—added mid-production. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige remained tight-lipped, promising the meaning would become clear once the film hit screens.
It does.
In the film’s final act, following a climactic showdown with Sentry (Lewis Pullman), Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine publicly rebrands the Thunderbolts as “The New Avengers.” The moment cements a new chapter for the MCU, as the original Avengers had already been declared absent. This sets the stage for the Multiverse’s next phase, particularly with the impending arrival of Victor Von Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) in Avengers: Doomsday (2026).
The rebrand wasn’t kept under wraps for long. Just days after the release, Marvel Studios incorporated the title change into its official marketing. The studio’s X (formerly Twitter) bio and header now showcase “The New Avengers,” and promotional posters with the updated branding are circulating online. Even cast members, including Stan, have joined in.
The reveal has sparked controversy among fans, some of whom were caught off guard by the early marketing rollout. Responses on social media were mixed, but a big sentiment was shared: Marvel had seemingly spoiled the stinger of its not-even-a-week-old movie.
While some feel the trailers already hinted at the team’s evolving identity, the explicit confirmation before many had seen the film was enough to stir backlash.
Still, director Jake Schreier sees the rollout as a positive. Speaking to The New York Times, he said: “It’s very fun that they were open to embracing that. It’s so interesting in this world, and Kevin talks about it sometimes, where sometimes they wanted things to leak, and they don’t. I think we all assumed that it would be a bigger part of the conversation already, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.”
However, this past weekend’s marketing for “The New Avengers” could have caused a recent spike at the box office. According to reports, Thunderbolts* saw a 48% increase at the domestic box office on Tuesday. Known as Discount Tuesday, which will have also been a factor in this spike, ticket prices are lower compared to usual.
“With ticket prices lowered, many moviegoers flocked to theaters to catch the new Marvel film on the big screen, pushing its total for the day to USD 7.4 million, marking a sharp 48 percent jump from Monday,” Pink Villa reported.
The future of the New Avengers in the MCU remains to be seen, especially with the film’s post-credits teasing that Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is moving to reassemble a version of the original Avengers team. A meta twist even brings this plot point into real-world branding: the official Avengers social media channels now include a copyright symbol, alluding to Sam’s in-universe move to trademark the Avengers name.
Next up for Marvel is The Fantastic Four: First Steps, coming July 25, 2025, directed by WandaVision’s Matt Shakman. That will lead directly into Avengers: Doomsday in May 2026, bringing together both the New Avengers and the Fantastic Four in what could be the start of the long-rumored Mutant Saga.
Thunderbolts* is now playing in theaters worldwide.
Do you think Marvel revealed too much too soon? And do you think people are more likely to go see the movie with its new title? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
The post Marvel Swiftly Rebrands MCU Movie, Big Updates Reported appeared first on Inside the Magic.
