Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has acknowledged the asterisk is absolutely intentional in the Thunderbolts title, prompting fans to share theories on what it could mean.
Feige put to rest any doubts about the style change during Disney’s presentation at CinemaCon 2024, attended by IGN, as he confirmed that the asterisk is an official part of the name. He wouldn’t elaborate further on the addition other than saying that the audience won’t find out more until after the movie hits theaters.
Kevin Feige confirms ‘Thunderbolts*’ is the official title
“We won’t tell you any more about that until the film comes out” pic.twitter.com/rHtkSi87dP
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) April 11, 2024
Thunderbolts’ release date is currently set for May 2, 2025, meaning there is more than a year until fans will discover why the asterisk exists. However, it seems curiosity got the better of people as the presentation inspired a fresh wave of speculation over the reason behind the addition of the star-shaped symbol.
An asterisk is typically used as a pointer to an annotation or a footnote, leading people to believe there is more to the updated title than meets the eye. A few popular theories have emerged from discussions on social media platforms and online communities where Thunderbolts* is currently the topic of hot debate.
Thunderbolts will become the Dark Avengers
One of the most prevalent suggestions is that the Thunderbolts team will become the Dark Avengers, made all the more plausible by Lewis Pullman being in the mix as The Sentry — Marvel’s most powerful and dangerous superhero, who appeared as a regular character in the Dark Avengers comic series from its first issue in 2009.
Several people name-dropped the Dark Avengers on X/Twitter, echoing the thoughts of those on Reddit. One person proposed the team would change after the events of Captain America: Brave New World, writing, “Ross forms the Dark Avengers or an Avengers team he controls and their name will be the title of the film.”
Another person agreed that Ross “or better yet MCU-199999 Norman Osborn” might want to push the team in “a new direction.” Some thought we wouldn’t find out about a potential name change until the end of Thunderbolts, with one person voicing their opinion that it will happen “in the credits where they show the title card.”
I’m telling you that Thunderbolts* will probably be renamed as the Dark Avengers pic.twitter.com/ZtvNruIsag
— The_RealStraw_Hat_Ryan (@RyanSeghetti) April 12, 2024
Dark Avengers??? #Thunderbolts pic.twitter.com/aJQKcSI1JS
— PeterJones2021 (@CEOoftheMCU2024) April 12, 2024
Maybe Thunderbolts* title gets changed to DARK AVENGERS* and Norman Osborn makes an appearance 👀
IRON PATRIOT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AZOlFOap81
— BLURAYANGEL 🦇 (@blurayangel) April 11, 2024
I think this is because they’re gonna change their name at the end of the film. Thunderbolts is gonna be a name like “Task Force X” and the actual members are gonna rename themselves The Dark Avengers https://t.co/Zo9qu5RBiv
— RomansEmpire (@romansempir3) April 11, 2024
Thunderbolts’ asterisk is an inside joke
A few people thought the asterisk would not bear too much weight on the actual story itself, resulting in any changes to the team, but rather, a running joke because the Thunderbolts team do not approve of their name, and it might be a working title for the group that doesn’t get finalised during the movie.
“Ross demanding them to be called the Thunderbolts but everyone pushing back on it as a joke is kinda hilarious,” one person said on Reddit.
Another believed that the “inside joke” might still lead the team in an entirely different direction. “It’s probably going to be an Inside Joke, with the characters deciding which name they should use,” that person suggested before adding that “in the final title card, it’s going to appear a new title, like Dark Avengers.”
It just clicked… The asterisk is there not because the title is changing for us but because the anti-heroes in the team hate the name… That’s the joke, not that Marvel are looking to change the title but that the team are reluctant about it.#MarvelStudios #Thunderbolts pic.twitter.com/5wx0L9cQ0L
— Dan Barker (@SpookyBarker) April 12, 2024
I’m betting it’s going to be a dumb joke like someone calling them Thunderballs or something and then someone or on a document or whatever fixes it like Thunderbolts* and it’s the dumbest thing ever https://t.co/8FBQywWeVY
— Mo (@MisterMoscle) April 12, 2024
The stupid thing about this is that it will be a joke on how dumb the name is. Something like…
“We’ll call them (dramatic beat) Thunderbolts.”
Awkward silence from all in the room.
“Are we sure about that…maybe we will table it for later.” https://t.co/PxGjqxTPKi
— Reel (@ReelToRealPro) April 11, 2024
What does that mean? 🤔 maybe the tagline would somehow spoil an upcoming project so they put an asterisk there? Or maybe the running joke of the movie is that Thunderbolts is like a working title for the group? https://t.co/EbpsRAeOzx
— ☄️ The Jedi Genasi ☄️ (@JediGenasi) April 11, 2024
Thunderbolts is going to be a bigger team or multiple teams
Some fans thought the asterisks might indicate that the team will expand to include more members or even be one of two teams to appear in the Thunderbolts movie. The theory put forward on X/Twitter suggested that “the team they showed in the concept art isn’t the full team (or the real thunderbolts).”
As for the secret characters, one Redditor said: “I can see Zemo showing up at some point in the end and taking the team over at least?” To which someone replied: “If Zemo takes over the team at the end, and is revealed to be the mastermind, then I will take back a lot of my cynicism and then become an instant fan.”
Secret characters?
— Rich Marin, KT (@RichMarinKT) April 11, 2024
Theory: There’s an asterisk because the team they showed in the concept art isn’t the full team( or the real thunderbolts) when they are finished with filming or maybe at this year’s SDCC, Feige will reveal The Full Team https://t.co/ePlwer5mAw pic.twitter.com/atG6Fx72RR
— Damien( Fan Account) (@hndrxxfilms) March 28, 2024
Apparently there will be more than 1 “Thunderbolts” team and that’s why the asterisk is there 👀 https://t.co/ut4QGzCKz4
— Austin Verse (@austin_medz) April 11, 2024
Thunderbolts*
*Disclaimer: All characters in the poster may not appear in the movie for more than 2 minutes
— MERCEDES (@hatorl) April 12, 2024
Thunderbolts will see various Marvel characters team up for the first time on the big screen. Previously announced stars include Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier, Wyatt Russell as John Walker (aka US Agent), Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, and Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross.
What this group has in store remains a mystery, but audiences should expect the unexpected if past comments are anything to go by. Director Jake Schreier has promised that Thunderbolts will offer “something different” to other superhero team-up movies, while Harbour has stated it will “drop a bomb” on the MCU.*
*We probably won’t find out what that means until Thunderbolts debuts in theaters on May 2, 2025.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.
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