Disney Just Intentionally Spoiled ‘Thunderbolts*’
Okay, I’m about to spoil the ending of Thunderbolts*, something I certainly hadn’t expected to do today.
In my defense, ruining the big surprise of the film wasn’t my choice. It’s Disney’s.
Photo: Marvel
So, if you haven’t watched Thunderbolts* yet, PLEASE stop reading. As I told you the other day, it’s going to be one of the best films of 2025.
The last thing I want to do is give away the ending for you. But if you have seen the film, you can probably guess what just happened.
Photo: Marvel
Disney just spoiled its own movie. Here’s what happened and why Disney did such a strange thing.
Here There Be Spoilers
Photo: Marvel
Seriously, if you haven’t watched Thunderbolts* yet, please stop reading!!!
If you’re still here for the “Marvel Explains the Asterisk” section, I’ll presume that you’ve watched the movie.
Photo: Marvel
This is the only way I can assuage my conscience, as I’ve spent almost literally half my life trying not to spoil movies.
Disney made me do this. I cannot be held responsible for my own actions.
Photo: Marvel
Are you still here? This is your final warning! I AM ABOUT TO SPOIL THE ENDING OF THUNDERBOLTS!!! Okay, you’ve been warned. Here goes…
Marvel Explains the Asterisk
Photo: Marvel
On Monday, 72 hours after The Walt Disney Company released its $180 million blockbuster in theaters, the company ruined the huge shocking twist.
A while ago, Disney updated the title of its latest Marvel movie from Thunderbolts to Thunderbolts*.
The move seemed strange at the time, albeit a sure way to provoke conversation regarding the meaning of the asterisk.
I suspect that most people guessed the meaning behind the asterisk, or, at the very least, people narrowed it down to one of three possibilities.
Photo: Marvel
Fans believed that Marvel had chosen its new superhero team, the replacement for The Avengers.
Speculation ensued that the new team would be called either the Dark Avengers, the Secret Avengers, or the New Avengers.
Marvel
All of these superhero teams exist in the comics, and each one has shared a similar purpose.
At times when the actual Avengers couldn’t perform their duties for various reasons, another team stepped up.
Photo op in Disney Springs
The most nefarious of these groups was the Dark Avengers, a team consisting of not just antiheroes but actual Disney villains.
So, while I never thought it made sense, a lot of people believed that the antiheroes of the MCU would become the Secret Avengers.
Photo: Marvel
The logic centers on actual killers being members of the Thunderbolts*.
If that team evolved into a group working for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, they’d be performing nefarious tasks and thereby Dark Avengers.
The analog for the Thunderbolts has always been DC’s Suicide Squad, with the presumption of similarly unethical behavior.
Well, that premise never made sense in that Marvel specifically hired likable people like David Harbour and Florence Pugh for these roles.
Florence Pugh attends Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow” world premier fan event at Cineworld Leicester Square on June 29, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK )
Also, a company like Disney wouldn’t want to highlight a villainous group as the replacements for the Avengers.
Thus, a quick deduction narrowed the choices to the Secret Avengers or the New Avengers, the latter of which has had a LOT more comic books.
Photo: Disney
Sure enough, the end of Thunderbolts* revealed that the new superhero team formerly known as the Thunderbolts is now the New Avengers.
A Curious Marketing Strategy
The Marvel movie “Thunderbolts” was primarily filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional scenes shot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Utah, USA.
Photo: Marvel
On Monday, May 5, 2025, members of the cast of Thunderbolts* appeared near a billboard in Los Angeles.
As a team, they gave the billboard a facelift, switching the ad from saying Thunderbolts* to The New Avengers.
Photo: Marvel
Soon afterward, Fandango, the movie ticketing service, switched the purchase options for the film.
You can no longer buy tickets for Thunderbolts*, but you can grab a seat for The New Avengers.
Photo: Disney
Okay, that’s only partially correct. You’ll still buy tickets for a film called Thunderbolts*, at least at the time of publication.
However, the poster for the film includes a picture and an explanation. The image actually says, * = The New Avengers.
Thunderbolts on location Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Marvel Studios
So, they’re just explaining the big twist at the end right there on the movie poster. You can find this post on X as well:
They have a̶r̶r̶i̶v̶e̶d̶ assembled!
T̶h̶u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶b̶o̶l̶t̶s̶* The New Avengers is now playing in theaters. Get tickets: https://t.co/bFq0RNfp6K https://t.co/lIUa8CJCBx pic.twitter.com/8YiRGAVpfE
— Marvel Studios* (@MarvelStudios) May 5, 2025
There’s also this:
Folks, that’s the official Marvel Entertainment YouTube channel just giving away the film’s climactic scene.
The Secret Is Out
Image: Marvel
As far as marketing strategies go, I’ll level with you that I’ve never seen this one before…and I’ve been writing about movies since the 1990s.
Disney apparently wants to create a second wave of interest by spoiling the surprise in exchange for letting people know this is an Avengers movie.
Image: Marvel
The thought process here is apparently that Marvel wanted to pull off a massive surprise by releasing an Avengers movie without anyone knowing.
Now that the film is out in theaters, Marvel wants to tell the world what just happened.
AMC Theatres
This is, by any reasonable evaluation, a full reboot with Marvel giving itself a clean slate for the next phase of the MCU.
I have no idea whether this will increase post-opening weekend interest in Thunderbolts* (I’m still calling it that), but it’s a daring gambit.
Disney
Stay tuned to find out whether it works! Is the MCU back? I think it may be back.
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