Marvel’s Thunderbolts Movie Has An Asterisk In The Title, And That’s On Purpose

As part of the CinemaCon event this week in Las Vegas, Marvel confirmed that Thunderbolts* is the official title of the film, and that includes the asterisk. But what’s the asterisk all about?

According to Marvel boss Kevin Feige, “We won’t talk about the asterisk until after release.” An asterisk in literature usually refers readers to a footnote explaining what the asterisk is for. But what that footnote might be in regards to Thunderbolts is anyone’s guess. People on Reddit and elsewhere on the internet have a number of theories as to what it all might mean.

In the comic books, the Thunderbolts are villains in disguise as superheroes. In the film, this team of characters is dispatched on missions for the government, but as usual, things may not be what they seem.

Thunderbolts stars Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, with David Harbour coming back as well to reprise his role as Alexei. The movie also brings back Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, with Wyatt Russell playing John Walker and Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Check out Pugh’s behind-the-scenes video to get a glimpse at the Thunderbolts movie set.

Jake Schreier, who has directed music videos for Kanye West and Justin Bieber, as well as episodes of Kidding and Beef, is directing Thunderbolts. The movie releases in May 2025.

Whereas previous years featured multiple releases, Marvel has just one new movie coming to theaters in 2024–Deadpool and Wolverine. This is part of Disney’s wider strategy to release fewer, better movies.