Marvel has officially renamed the movie «Thunderbolts*» to «The New Avengers» — only four days ago, the official premiere took place.
On May 6, Marvel Studios updated the posters on its social media. US movie theaters — including AMC and Fandango — started using the new name for ticket sales.
Marvel played up the name change with a video from the premiere, in which the actors remove the name «Thunderbolts» from a banner that had been hidden under «The New Avengers». And Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes) starred in a video where he personally re-sticks posters at a bus stop. The updated version of the movie is already being advertised on big screens and billboards. A separate part of the campaign — international graffiti actions and other «street» formats.
*The New Avengers cereal box display at the Universal City Walk AMC.
📸: @Culture3ase pic.twitter.com/14NWQj4WjK
— *The New Avengers News (@tbolts_news) May 5, 2025
Technically, Marvel and Disney did not change the name to «Thunderbolts: The New Avengers». But the asterisk in the original title has long raised questions. After the movie’s release, it became clear: it hinted at a plot twist — in the last scenes of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine calls the main characters «New Avengers». For example, in another scene from the trailer, one of the characters said that: «No Avengers will save us» because it turns out they will become them.
This decision is part of a larger marketing campaign. The rebranding was launched on the second week of the movie’s release when the initial excitement was waning. However, the second week is important for the long-term box office. In its first weekend, «Thunderbirds» grossed $76 million in the US, and in total $162 million, which is actually the level of the production budget. The result is not bad, but lower than the original Avengers films. Marvel and Disney hope that the new title will spur interest in the film as part of the main MCU line.
At the same time, Marvel carefully avoided spoilers until the official launch of the rebranding. In early screenings, the studio asked fans not to reveal the content until May 6. Although Robert Downey Jr. accidentally mentioned the name «The New Avengers» on his Instagram when he wrote about going to the movie with colleagues, he later deleted the mention. According to Disney’s head of marketing Asad Ayaz, the team chose the moment to reveal the title for a long time — they decided it was better to do it after the premiere to maximize the effect.
Technically, «The New Avengers» — is just a new positioning. Meanwhile, Marvel is preparing the next movie called «Avengers: Day of Judgment» where the characters from «Thunderbirds» will reappear. Florence Pugh, Lewis Pullman, Stan, Wyatt Russell, David Harbour and Anna John-Kamen are all taking part in the filming, which is currently underway in London.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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