Director Jake Schreier and actress Florence Pugh have hinted at what they know about the enigmatic asterisk in Thunderbolts, which continues to dominate discussions about the next MCU film. As Thunderbolts approaches its May 2 release date, the solutions to all of its puzzles will soon be made public. Fans are left to guess how the titular team would handle the Void’s challenge in the apparent absence of the Avengers, who are relatively more powerful, until that time. In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, Jake Schrier assured viewers that “It means something,” but Florence Pugh and Schrier have not commented on the asterisk mystery. Their remarks follow a little more than a month after the Japanese poster for the film had the statement, “*The Avengers are not available,” which made potential viewers question whether this was all it was intended to convey. Pugh and Schrier don’t explicitly rule out this option, but Executive Producer Brian Chapek provided more justification for the asterisk. Each of them responded as follows when questioned about the asterisk’s nature:
Brian Chapek: “We wanted to do something very different, and capture people’s attention.”
Florence Pugh: “I actually know. But I’m not gonna tell you. I hold all the power.”
Jake Schrier: “I don’t think I can say anything. I can say that it means something. There’s some general sense of what an asterisk means.”
The directors’ remarks are quite ambiguous. It is important to note that the mysterious asterisk was added to the title long after the film was first announced, which may indicate that it has no meanings that alter the plot. Schrier’s assertion that there is a “general sense of what an asterisk means,” however, hardly disproves any of the accepted ideas. The following are some of the most well-known of these theories:
- It is a placeholder for the team becoming the Dark Avengers or the Secret Avengers.
- It hides a secret extra member.
- It denotes that the Thunderbolts are not supposed to be a team.
Unfortunately, until the film is released, there is no way to know for sure what it implies. Kevin Feige made this claim shortly after the asterisk was included in April 2024. Feige said during his speech at CinemaCon 2024:
“That is the official title of Thunderbolts and we won’t talk more about that until after the movie comes out.”
Since he is probably implying that the nature of the asterisk will become clear via viewing, this implies that the asterisk is closely related to the story. It also explains why Schrier and his team are keeping quiet until the last minute. At the very least, this raises the possibility that its significance will go beyond the straightforward slogan “The Avengers are not available.” Although it puts pressure on Marvel Studios to deliver on the build-up, I’m really rather glad that the asterisk will remain a mystery until Thunderbolts* is eventually published. My excitement has been heightened by the most recent Thunderbolts* trailer, but I worry that if the payout isn’t significant, I’ll be disappointed. In any event, I believe it’s a great marketing gimmick since I’m eager to find out the truth as quickly as possible.

Source:- ScreenRent