Marvel Renames Thunderbolts* to The New Avengers: Here's Why Makers Changed Film's Title a Week After Release

Spoilers ahead for Thunderbolts* 

Marvel's latest release hit the theaters on May 1 and immediately won over fans' hearts. After receiving a positive review, the Studio didn't waste time unveiling a new poster, declaring the band of misfits to be "*The New Avengers."

The title change was made on the giant billboard in Los Angeles, and the same change was made on ticketing websites like Fandango. Fans have been wondering what the asterisk sign in the title signified, which was explained in the latter half of the movie. 

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) announces the Thunderbolts* as *The New Avengers in the film. That's why the asterisk in the original title was to indicate that it was the incorrect name of the group. 

The new team includes Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Sentry (Lewis Pullman). 

Another bombshell revelation was made in the film’s post-credit scene when the new team was shown living in the old Avengers’ headquarters, called the Watchtower. Worlds seem to be colliding in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Anthony Mackie’s Captain America: Brave New World ended with him heading on a mission to reunite the Avengers. Avengers: Doomsday, which is slated to release next year, will bring the old and new Avengers together. 

The latest cast of Marvel’s Fantastic Four – Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Vanessa Kirby, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach – will be seen working alongside the rest in the highly anticipated Avengers movie. 

Robert Downey Jr., who memorably portrayed Marvel’s beloved Iron Man for years until the character’s death, will be back in the franchise as the mega-villain, Doctor Doom. There was another hair-raising post-credit scene in Thunderbolts* that hinted at what’s next. 

The scene showed the Fantastic Four‘s spaceship entering Earth’s orbit from another dimension, along with the theme music. The movie will hit theaters on July 25, 2025.