Marvel Studios has officially pulled back the curtain on the mystery behind Thunderbolts* and its curious asterisk, and now the movie is officially being marketed as The New Avengers.
Updated billboards and theater standees have already started appearing with the New Avengers branding, and there’s also a newly released promo video that spells it out. That meaning of the cheeky little asterisk was revealed in the film, but now Marvel’s doubling down on it in the real world.
As you might imagine, this has sparked a lot of speculation about Marvel’s long-term strategy. Why the misdirection? Well, there’s a good chance Marvel didn’t want to dilute the “Avengers” name ahead of Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.
But with Thunderbolts* getting rave reviews from both fans and critics, it looks like the studio is seizing the momentum to relabel the film for its second weekend at the box office to give it a fresh marketing boost. Slapping “Avengers” on the marquee is certainly a great way to draw in the undecided crowd.
It’s not the first time a studio has pivoted like this. Remember when Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) was rebranded mid-theatrical run as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey? Or when Edge of Tomorrow got a marketing makeover as Live Die Repeat for its home release?
Now the secret is offically out, but if I would’ve put The New Avengers people would’ve unleased the fury of spoiling it for them. But, I didn’t, so you can take yourt complaints up with Marvel.
Sebastian Stan was even spotted replacing Thunderbolts posters with The New Avengers posters.
I love that the Thunderbolts team are now The New Avengers. I love this team and I hope that they have a long journey in the MCU together!
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