In Thunderbolts*'s final act, the team is revealed as the MCU's New Avengers, and that mysterious asterisk is finally given a meaning.
It won't have come as a surprise to most of you (it was rumoured to be "New Avengers" from pretty much the start), but it's still a huge moment that should have major ramifications as we head into Avengers: Doomsday.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, filmmaker Jake Schreier confirmed the big reveal was "in the script from the very first draft."
He continued, "Even though a lot of things, almost everything, changed around it. There was the core idea of these operatives sent to kill each other, which I thought was such a neat twist on people expecting Marvel's Suicide Squad. And then that was the ending, and it went to a very different place, but that was the one thing that was like, no matter what we do, it's going to end in that place."
"There's these little hints, so that it doesn't feel like a total left turn when [the name change] happens," Schreier added. "And then also in the credits, in both of our post-credit sequences, acknowledging that this is not necessarily the most comfortable or perfect fit, and that it'll be fun to watch how that goes going forward."
So, does this mean the movie's real title is New Avengers? "If you want to [still] call it Thunderbolts*, that's okay," the director noted. "The asterisk was part of my last pitch meeting before getting the job."
"I thought it would be a small thing — we should have one sign, put an asterisk on it, and say, 'Until we come up with something better.' And then they really ran with that and embraced that. And it felt like, at this studio, with the amount of attention on it, it's a place where you could pull off something like that," Schreier concluded.
The cast of Thunderbolts* was also on hand to discuss the reveal, with Yelena Belova actress Florence Pugh admitting she wasn't sure it was actually happening.
"Yeah, they're going to say that, and maybe in the tag scene they're like, 'Nah, never mind,'" Pugh recalled with a laugh. "I was obviously really shocked, also because we've never seen these people work together before...I remember being as shocked when I read the Valentina line as Yelena was — all of them were."
"It's a huge honor. It's massive, oh my God," she admitted. "It's so thrilling to think that those at Marvel actually thought that that was a possibility and that they wanted to put us next to that. It is huge. It's probably keeping her alive. It's given her purpose. Being a part of that, being a part of that family, having people to rely on, and for them to rely on her has kept her alive. It's allowed her to feel loved again."
Fans have also wondered what all this means for Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. She saves her skin by announcing the team as the New Avengers to the press, and now appears to be funding the group thanks to her role as Director of the CIA.
Thunderbolts* either ends her story or establishes Val as the new Nick Fury. Dreyfus is understandably eager to reprise the role. "Well, I certainly hope so, and I can't really say. I'm not at liberty to say, but I know that anything is possible, and I'm up for more play in the Marvel universe at any moment. I stand at the ready."
It's obvious that the New Avengers will be key to Avengers: Doomsday, with the entire team confirmed to appear. It's also been revealed today that the Russo Brothers shot Thunderbolts*'s post-credits scene, meaning they came up with those character dynamics and costumes.
A new TV spot for Thunderbolts* can be seen below. You can also read our review by clicking here.