Thunderbolts* asterisk title explained as Florence Pugh stars in explosive first trailer

Having been introduced in Black Widow, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belva and David Harbour’s Red Guardian are being brought together by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in a team of antiheroes for the American government.

This Marvel Suicide Squad also includes Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes from the Captain America movies, Wyatt Russell’s US Agent from The Falcon and the Winter Solider, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp and Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster from Black Widow.

They will also be joined by Lewis Pullman as the incredibly powerful Bob aka Sentry, as teased in today’s first trailer for Thunderbolts*.

Meanwhile, Harrison Ford, Laurence Fishburne and Rachel Weisz are expected to reprise their MCU roles as President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Bill Foster and Melina Vostokoff respectively.

But what exactly is that asterisk in the film’s title all about?

Upon the movie’s announcement, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige teased that this would be explained following the film’s release. One big rumour, championed by scooper MyTimeToShineHello is that they will be renamed the New Avengers.

Presumably, this would be going into Avengers Doomsday as the original team has been disbanded since Endgame and the Thunderbolts appear to be using the old Avengers tower. Such a theory also fits with the group’s role in the comics when they filled in the gap when the actual Avengers were inactive.

Thunderbolts* hits cinemas in May 2025.