Warning: major spoilers ahead!
Marvel’s taking a strange swing with its latest marketing campaign.
Thunderbolts* , the newest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, premiered in theaters worldwide less than a week ago with reviews from fans and critics alike lauding the blockbuster as a return to form for Marvel, praising its for the exciting groundwork it lays for a new generation of superheroes (or antiheroes?)
The draw to Thunderbolts*, besides the fact that its group of antiheroes actually mesh well with each other, is that it comes with a huge reveal at the end. In the third act of the film, Valentina introduces the group to the world as the New Avengers. This moment was the payoff after months of teasing, with fans guessing about the giant asterisk that dotted the movie’s title. In the movie’s post-credits scene, the Thunderbolts — ahem excuse me, the New Avengers — can be seen living in the old Avengers’ headquarters, which they now call the Watchtower.
It’s been less than a week since its global release and Marvel is already spoiling the big payoff. The studio posted a video of the cast ripping the title off a poster to reveal “The New Avengers” underneath. Giant billboards are being redone to show off the new name in its bold, yellow text.
“Given that the asterisk has been on the movie for a year, hopefully it doesn’t feel sweaty,” director Jake Schreier told The New York Times about the marketing campaign. “It feels like this was a plan and we built up to it.”
But it does feel “sweaty,” to quote Schrier. The reveal may have landed well in theaters, but by fast-tracking the rebranding so soon after release, Marvel seems to be undercutting its own twist — and robbing fans of the thrill of a reveal.
However, Schreier sees the marketing campaign as a clever way of getting ahead of spoilers leaking online. “I think we all assumed that it would be a bigger part of the conversation already,” said Schrier. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens.”
