In one of the strangest pivots in Marvel Studios history, the company has begun actively rebranding its latest film Thunderbolts as The New Avengers—after the film has already opened in theaters. While no official title change has appeared in theater listings yet, Marvel has launched a coordinated promotional campaign referring to the film by its new moniker, signaling a dramatic shift in branding strategy.
They have a̶r̶r̶i̶v̶e̶d̶ assembled!
T̶h̶u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶b̶o̶l̶t̶s̶* The New Avengers is now playing in theaters. Get tickets: https://t.co/bFq0RNfp6K https://t.co/lIUa8CJCBx pic.twitter.com/8YiRGAVpfE
— Marvel Studios* (@MarvelStudios) May 5, 2025
The film, which opened to $74.3 million at the domestic box office (lower than initial Monday projections showed), underperformed even by post-Endgame standards. Originally projected for a slightly higher debut, the final weekend tally placed it below Shang-Chi ($75M) and only narrowly above Eternals ($71M)—two films often referenced as benchmarks for Marvel’s modern struggles. For a film that cost $200 million to produce with at least another $100 million in global promotion, the muted response seemed to confirm what early indicators suggested: the Thunderbolts name wasn’t resonating.
And so, just days into release, Marvel appears to be taking drastic steps to reposition the movie.
The Rollout of a Rebrand
It began with Marvel posting a video of Sebastian Stan—longtime MCU veteran and co-star of Thunderbolts—walking up to a bus stop ad for the film and slapping a new poster over it. The revised version reads “The New Avengers”, complete with top and bottom tape as if it’s a guerrilla effort.
#TheNewAvengers pic.twitter.com/ifA1jebPVE
— Marvel Studios* (@MarvelStudios) May 5, 2025
Shortly afterward, a second video showed Florence Pugh, who plays Yelena Belova, tearing away the Thunderbolts title on another poster to reveal The New Avengers branding beneath it. Both videos feature the core cast and appear to have been recorded around the time of the film’s premiere, implying this reveal was planned in advance—just not publicly acknowledged.
It’s unclear whether this was planned from the very start as a post release rebrand or if Marvel decided to go in this direction when advance ticket sales pointed to a disastrous opening.
The asterisk in the original title, long a curiosity among fans, now seems to have paid off its mystery. In the film, Thunderbolts is revealed to be the name of Yelena’s childhood soccer team—a source of internal debate among the characters themselves. But by the end of the movie, and especially in the second post-credit scene, the group begins referring to themselves as The New Avengers.
The Marketing Implication
It’s not uncommon for movies to undergo title changes during production, but a post-release rebrand is nearly unheard of. Theater chains like AMC and Regal still list the film as Thunderbolts, and ticketing platforms have not updated their titles either. However, Marvel is clearly leaning into the new name in promotional materials, posters, and social media pushes.
A screenshot from the AMC app featuring The New Avengers poster but with the Thunderbolts name – AMC
The timing of the rebrand has raised eyebrows—and with good reason. Adding the Avengers label to the title seems like a last-ditch attempt to boost interest and slow the narrative that Thunderbolts is another in a growing list of Marvel disappointments.
This could also be a signal of Marvel’s shifting priorities in the wake of brand fatigue and declining box office performance. Thunderbolts brought together familiar faces like Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and John Walker (Wyatt Russell), but without the Avengers branding, audiences didn’t seem to connect the project to Marvel’s larger narrative. It could also be an attempt to ward off a major second weekend box office drop off.
A screenshot from the Regal app with The New Avengers poster but the Thunderbolts title – Regal
By contrast, slapping “Avengers” on anything historically meant instant success. For Marvel to resort to this label retroactively suggests a growing urgency behind the scenes.
Déjà Vu: When DC Did the Same Thing
Marvel isn’t the first studio to attempt a late-stage title change in a bid to salvage box office performance. Warner Bros. made a similar move in 2020 with Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). After a disappointing opening weekend, the title was shortened in theaters and online ticket sites to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.
The move was designed to capitalize on name recognition and reframe the film as a Harley-centric experience.
Harley Quinn in The DCEU – YouTube, Warner Bros. Pictures
Ironically, Birds of Prey featured a team-up of villains-turned-heroes, decent reviews, and ultimately an underwhelming box office return. Sound familiar?
At the time, that kind of reactive title change was viewed as a sign of DC’s brand instability—a studio unsure of how to connect with audiences. Now Marvel, once the pinnacle of brand confidence, is taking pages from that same playbook. It raises a serious question: Is Marvel slipping into DC territory?
Connecting to the Future
The end of the film hints at Marvel’s larger plans. In the second post-credit scene, a foreign spaceship marked with the number 4 arrives in orbit, a clear nod to the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps film. The moment is punctuated by an argument among the team about whether Sam Wilson’s Captain America has filed a copyright lawsuit over the “New Avengers” name—a tongue-in-cheek way to address the shift in-universe.
The cast of Fantastic Four: First Steps – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
Still, the abrupt marketing change feels less like a clever twist and more like a reaction to tepid box office returns. It’s one thing to debut a name change within the film itself; it’s another to actively scrub the title across marketing platforms and push a new identity while the film is still in its first week of release.
The Bigger Picture
Marvel’s post-Endgame era has been defined by uncertainty. Once the gold standard of brand dominance, the studio has stumbled with recent projects like The Marvels, Eternals, and Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Thunderbolts—or rather, The New Avengers—is the latest example of a project that may have worked better on paper than in execution.
The team in Marvels Thunderbolts* – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
Whether the rebrand boosts the film’s legs at the box office remains to be seen. What’s clear is that Marvel knows it can no longer rely on brand loyalty alone. The days of blind trust are gone, and even a well-reviewed movie now needs all the help it can get to break through the noise.
If Thunderbolts becomes The New Avengers in the eyes of the public, it will be due less to creative evolution and more to marketing necessity. And that says a lot about where the MCU is right now.
How do you feel about Thunderbolts becoming The New Avengers? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!
