With Thunderbolts* fan screenings set to take place a few days from now, it won't be long until we finally learn what the movie's mysterious asterisk stands for.
Social media scoopers remain resolute that it's "New Avengers," but this wouldn't be the first time a lucky guess has been framed as inside information, only to be proven wrong.
Marvel Studios has released a couple of TV spots for the movie this weekend, one of which continues to toy with the asterisk's true meaning.
Here, it stands for "*Delinquents," "*Scrappy Anti-Heroes," and "*Bad Guys." There's a lot of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in both previews, with it once again made clear that she wanted this lot to kill each other, not form a team.
"In this film, she certainly takes advantage of people we've come to think of as underdogs and uses that to her advantage," Louis-Dreyfus previously teased. "It was fun for me to play a hyper-manipulative person who is about four steps ahead of everyone in the piece, and that was cool. And I did my share of kicking ass."
While Black Widow and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier framed Val as a master manipulator, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever revealed that she's in charge of the CIA.
In Thunderbolts*, she's residing in Avengers Tower, which we now know is called The Watchtower, with the world's strongest "hero," The Sentry, by her side. What her plan is for him and the world remains to be seen.
You can check out these new Thunderbolts* TV spots in the X posts below.
In Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes - Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?
The cast of Thunderbolts* will be led by Florence Pugh as Yelena Boleva, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Lewis Pullman as "Bob."
Written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo, and directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* is currently set to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.