Marvel Studios' surprise Thunderbolts* poster design change is dividing fans

It's long been apparent that something funny was going on with the title of Marvel Studios' latest MCU movie. Why was there an asterisk at the end of Thunderbolts*? In case you failed to notice it in the main poster designs, Marvel even released artwork that specifically focused on the intriguing unusual punctuation mark (see below).

Anyone who went to see the movie on its opening weekend will understand what it means by now. And for those who haven't... well, it seems that Marvel itself is giving away spoilers by changing its poster designs for the movie to reveal a new name and logo. Marketing genius up there with the best movie posters, or is it ruining the film for those who haven't seen it?

The latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thunderbolts* sees a lesser-known team of antiheroes – Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker – team up as they fight to survive attempts on their lives by CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

But Thunderbolts is only a placeholder name for the team. In the post-credits sequence at the end of the film, the group is rebranded. Marvel Studios now appears to be rolling out that new name in its advertising for the movie (look away now if you don't want spoilers).

Images shared on social media show Thunderbolts* billboards and posters in LA being altered to replace the film's original title with an all-new New Avengers logo. Marvel Singapore even posted a video on YouTube showing the change.

It's a bold move, seemingly changing the name of the movie just days after its release. That could be very shrewd from a marketing point of view. The Avengers name is much more well known than Thunderbolts, so once dedicated Marvel fans have seen the movie, the name change to New Avengers could be an effective way to win the attention of more casual viewers.

Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* | Asterisk Reveal | In Cinemas Now - YouTube

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But some fans are stunned that the studio is giving away the ending of the new movie in its own advertising. "Seriously, WTF is with them spoiling the movie's big ending twist like this. It hasn't even been out for a week!," one person comments on Reddit. "Marvel's rule for Spoilers is if you haven't seen it the 1st weekend, then on Monday, all bets are off," someone else writes.

Other fans are impressed. "Having a New Avengers movie disguised as something else up until its very last scene is genuinely some of the coolest marketing I've seen Marvel do, maybe even just any film company," one person says. "Can't imagine the amount of times they had to resist the urge to just label it that from the beginning."

The reality is that the internet allows spoilers to circulate so quickly that the contents of that all-important post-credits sequence is already out there to an extent. As some fans have pointed out, you need to go to see a film early if you want to avoid spoilers these days. Now I'm wondering what the sequel will be called – Thunderbolts* 2?

Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* | Official Trailer | In Cinemas May 1 - YouTube

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For more on movie poster design, see our interview with the makers of the John Wick posters. Also check out FIFA's World Cup 26 host city poster designs.

If you want to work in poster design yourself, see our picks of the best digital art software and the best graphic design software.