Thunderbolts* axes the asterisk to market its surprise title reveal
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The asterisk in the title of Thunderbolts* is a reference to a surprise name change introduced at the end of the film.
PHOTO: MARVEL STUDIOS
Kyle Buchanan
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LOS ANGELES – If you wondered why there is an asterisk attached to the title of the new Marvel movie Thunderbolts*, you will not have to wait any longer to find out.
Sure, you could have satisfied your curiosity the old-fashioned way by seeing the movie in theatres over the weekend, where it claimed the No. 1 spot at the box office.
But as at May 5 morning, the big reveal teased by that symbol will now be front and centre on the movie’s billboards, which have switched from Thunderbolts* to the surprising title introduced in the film’s closing credits.
(If you would like to remain unspoiled, read no further and avert your eyes from billboards for the time being.)
So long, Thunderbolts. This team of misfits, headed by Florence Pugh’s weary assassin Yelena Belova, ends the film rebranded as The New Avengers. And now, on billboards, the movie itself will follow suit.
The name change happens in the final scene of the Jake Schreier-directed film. Wily Central Intelligence Agency director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) tricks the newly assembled superteam into storming a news conference at which she introduces them to the world as the New Avengers.
Then, as the end credits begin, the title Thunderbolts* is ripped away like a comic-book page, revealing the new moniker.
After three days in theatres, that rebrand has now made its way to billboards. “It felt like, if Val is also trying to pull a switcheroo and sell the New Avengers to the world, we could do that too,” Schreier said in an interview with The New York Times on May 3. “Especially given that the asterisk has been on the movie for a year, hopefully it doesn’t feel sweaty – it feels like this was a plan and we built up to it.”
Incorporating the new moniker into the marketing may also be an acknowledgment that keeping a movie secret is harder than ever these days, when surprises can be splashed across social media within milliseconds of release. Schreier, who pitched the asterisk during his initial meetings on the movie, credits Marvel Studios and its president Kevin Feige for a willingness to experiment with the title switch.
“It’s very fun that they were open to embracing that,” Schreier said. He acknowledged that clips containing the spoiler have already made their way online, so why not make it work in their favour?
“It’s so interesting in this world, and Kevin talks about it sometimes, where sometimes they wanted things to leak and they don’t,” Schreier said. “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.” NYTIMES
