WARNING: This article includes MAJOR spoilers from Thunderbolts*Marvel Cinematic Universe movie director Jake Schreier explains what the asterisk in the Thunderbolts* title means and how it came about. With the Thunderbolts* movie ending, the MCU audience finally got answers to one of the biggest mysteries that emerged in Phase 5, which was the asterisk at the very end. While the film may mostly focus on the characters, such as the Thunderbolts, the world now knows them as something very different.
In a new interview with the Phase Hero podcast, the director was asked about the mysterious asterisk in the Thunderbolts* title, which was finally revealed by the end of the movie to be a reference to the New Avengers. When Thunderbolts* was initially announced, the asterisk wasn’t part of the title and was only revealed when filming started. Schreier addressed if the New Avengers twist was always there from the start, and he shared the following:

From the moment I pitched on the movie, that was the ending, and the script was very different than what we ended up making. But from the very first draft that I read, that was in and that stayed. The one thing that we had to do was, they were going to get introduced as that by Val. So I think that was part of my last pitch meeting, and I said, ‘I think it’d be fun to maybe do one ad somewhere where we put an asterisk on the title, and we say until we come up with something better.

Again, to their credit, Kevin and Lou loved it, and they went with it and marketing embraced it! I remember showing up to the photo shoot day, which happens during your shoot at some point, they show up on the weekend and all your actors go do all the photos for posters and all these early concepts. I went and was like, ‘Oh, you guys are really using that asterisk thing, huh? Yeah, I hope this works.’ And then deeper in, this idea that the name of the movie could actually shift on opening day. I think only a studio like this in the position that it’s in could pull something like that off. We’re sitting here before it comes out so we’ll find out exactly how it went.

I’ve got to claim it either way, but I think it just felt like, from the moment it came out, this cast is A-list sure, but people say, ‘Oh, they are the B-list characters,’ Thunderbolts doesn’t have the name recognition of a Superman or a Fantastic Four. How could you use that as an opportunity? What could you do with that and have fun with the sort of idea and the twist of it? And even in a way, when people say, ‘This is not my Thunderbolts!’ because it is not that first run where it’s Masters of Evil. I don’t really know how you would really do that in a movie context, maybe you could, [but] it seems hard to me.

But I do feel, in an odd way, like our ending essentially honors that idea, which is like they end up in that position, and maybe they are not the Masters of Evil, but they are people that really probably don’t belong in this tower. Maybe [they] could earn that right, but it’s going to be an uncomfortable fit with them at the face of what they become in front.

From Schreier’s explanation of how the asterisk was implemented in the film, it shows that Marvel Studios is open to playing with fun and creative marketing, as the Thunderbolts* title became a massively discussed topic for over a year. Given how the MCU has been lacking the Avengers for quite some time, the New Avengers became one of the biggest MCU Easter eggs and references for Thunderbolts*, allowing the franchise to re-introduce the Avengers concept, but with a twist. Even if Schreier thought this was going to start as a small little addition, it’s clear that he was not expecting the asterisk to blow up the way it did for the Thunderbolts* marketing.
While this team may be the New Avengers, that doesn’t mean the MCU couldn’t still do a Thunderbolts* 2 movie down the line where that name becomes an actual team name in the MCU, but with other characters. But in the end, for Thunderbolts*’s overall legacy, the asterisk has now become a fun addition that allows the film to stand out for the rest of time. This was only possible because Schreier gave a neat pitch to Marvel Studios, which had a life of its own, as putting asterisks in movie titles is unheard of in general.

Image via Marvel Studios

Based on Schreier’s backstory on the Thunderbolts* asterisk, it’s incredible to hear that there was a lot of thought put into it, while also leaving the audience guessing about what it actually meant. From everything that went down in the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene, the New Avengers will definitely have to deal with some obstacles in having that name, especially as they get brought back for Avengers: Doomsday. But for now, time will tell what the New Avengers reveal from Thunderbolts* will do for the characters in the future of the MCU.

Thunderbolts*

8/10

Release Date

May 2, 2025

Runtime

126 Minutes

Director

Jake Schreier

Writers

Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo

Upcoming MCU Movies

Source: Phase Hero/YouTube