Marvel May Have Revealed Why The Thunderbolts* Title Has An Asterisk

The folks at Marvel are in a teasing mood at the moment. For example, the latest "Thunderbolts*" trailer potentially spoiled a major detail from "Captain America: Brave New World" — one that suggests that the Avengers are gone for good. The film's Super Bowl teaser also confirms that Earth's Mightiest Heroes are nowhere to be seen, and it's up to Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and the rest of the Thunderbolts gang to step up to the plate. That said, it seems that there's more to this movie than meets the eye.

One of the biggest questions heading into "Thunderbolts*" pertains to the asterisk in the film's title. Some fans believe that the title is intentionally omitting some information, and the team's identity could be subject to change. What's more, Marvel Studios' X (formerly known as Twitter) account has shared an international poster featuring another asterisk next to the tagline "*THE AVENGERS ARE NOT AVAILABLE," which raises more questions.

『#サンダーボルツ*』5/2(金)日米同時公開🎬
◢◤◢◤💥最新ポスター解禁💥◢◤◢◤

ヒーロー不在の世界で立ち上がるのは
全員"ワケあり"のならず者チーム⚡️
《サンダーボルツ》

謎の男・ボブの正体。
タイトルのアスタリスクに隠された意味とは...⁉️

「*THE AVENGERS ARE NOT AVAILABLE」 pic.twitter.com/LdKcaIH5Hm

— マーベル・スタジオ［公式］ (@MarvelStudios_J) February 10, 2025

While this could just be a throwaway joke to highlight the Thunderbolts' underdog status in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it could also indicate that more Avengers are entering the cinematic universe. Let's dig into it.

The latest trailer for "Thunderbolts*" sees Red Guardian try to devise a moniker for the team. He eventually shouts "We are the Thunderbolts!" out loud, much to the annoyance of Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who tells his new ally that they can't call themselves that. Considering that no one other than Guardian wants their crew to be called the Thunderbolts, it's possible that they'll be given a new name.

Some possibilities include the Secret Avengers, Dark Avengers, or New Avengers. The latter option is arguably the most fitting due to the fact the gang has been tasked with filling the void left behind by Earth's Mightiest Heroes being nowhere to be found. However, the Thunderbolts also have close ties to the Dark Avengers in Marvel's comic books, and their morally questionable pasts make them ideal candidates to carry such a moniker. Regardless of what they're called, Marvel fans are already anticipating one member of the Thunderbolts will die, so they might have bigger problems to worry about than coming up with a good team name.

It remains to be seen if the Thunderbolts will become Avengers, but we at least we won't have to wait long to find out for sure. The movie is slated for release on May 2, 2025, at which point the mystery surrounding the asterisk will be cleared up.