Why Does the 'Thunderbolts*' Movie Title Have an Asterisk? Marvel Hints at Amusing Answer
They aren't the Avengers. They aren't the team you might have picked. But they're here, and they're doing their best.
Updated Feb. 10 2025, 2:39 p.m. ET
2025 promises to sow a bumper crop of films for Marvel fans. the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is getting several new story-advancing films that promise to be blockbusters, including Thunderbolts*.
But for those who have been following the movie, which was announced several years ago, you may have noticed something odd: there's an asterisk in the title. It's not a mistake, and it's not optional; it's part of the title.
So why does Thunderbolts* have an asterisk? Marvel has hinted at an amusing reason behind the move, so we'll take a look at what they have had to say about it. Or rather — not say. Plus, let's take a look at what the Thunderbolts* film promises to add to the MCU.
Marvel hinted at an amusing answer to the question, "Why does 'Thunderbolts*' have an asterisk?
According to Merriam-Webster, asterisks are "used in printing or writing as a reference mark, as an indication of the omission of letters or words." However, that same definition goes on to add that they can also be used for, "various arbitrary meanings."
For the Thunderbolts*, the asterisk has always seemed like it was linking to an as-yet-unpublished footnote. But a new international movie poster for the film may have revealed just what that asterisk means.
At the bottom of the poster, the asterisk reads, "*The Avengers are not available."
If this is what the asterisk has been hiding all along, it's a pretty humorous little secret. After all, the Thunderbolts are marketed as the anti-heroes who do the job when the Avengers aren't around.
However, that may not be the whole story. According to TheDirect, the head of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige addressed the new symbol at CinemaCon in 2024 saying they "won't talk about the asterisk until after release."
So is that still true, and there's more to discover? Or did the movie poster give us the big reveal?
We can't be sure until the film hits theaters on May 2, 2025. But for now, we're still chuckling over the suggestion that they're not the best team for the job, merely the most available.
What can we expect from 'Thunderbolts*'? Something a little different, that's for sure.
And if you're curious about what to expect with the Thunderbolts* movie, that sentence may well sum it up.
They aren't the Avengers. They aren't the team you might have picked. But they're here, and they're doing their best.
The Thunderbolts are comprised of Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh; Red Guardian, played by David Harbour; Winter Soldier, playing by Sebastian Stan; US Agent, played by Wyatt Russell; Ghost, played by Hannah John-Kamen; Taskmaster, played by Olga Kurylenko — and then there's Bob. Played by Lewis Pullman, Bob is hiding some things despite his ridiculously normal name.
Unlike the uber-heroic Avengers, the Thunderbolts are comprised of anti-heroes who have either done bad things in the past or at least — in the case of US Agent — failed to do good things.
We've already seen some of this redemption arc play out with Bucky, who kicked some serious Avengers rear as the Winter Soldier when he was still a Hydra plant.
There are theories about who the Thunderbolts will become and what role they'll have in the MCU. But until we see how they've opted to play out their roles, it's all speculation.
For now, all we know is that the Thunderbolts* have some secrets, and we're ready to discover what they are.
*The Avengers are still not available.