New Thunderbolts trailer solves one long-standing MCU mystery

Marvel Studios went out of its way to make the most of its D23 Brazil panel this weekend. Not only did the studio offer those in attendance new looks at upcoming titles like The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Daredevil: Born Again, but it also used the occasion to release a new trailer for next year’s Thunderbolts*. The film is shaping up to be one of the biggest blockbusters of 2025. Thanks to its well-received first trailer, it has also generated one of the most positive early waves of anticipation of any Marvel Cinematic Universe project of the past few years.

The early hype surrounding Thunderbolts* shouldn’t die down in response to its latest trailer, either. The nearly four-minute-long teaser opens with a well-staged desert chase involving Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). From there, the Thunderbolts* trailer goes on to confirm — as many fans had previously suspected — that it was CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who bought Avengers Tower between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

“How crazy is it to think of all the monumental fights that happened exactly here where you’re standing?” Val asks as Yelena and co. walk around in the newly refurbished Avengers Tower. “The place wasn’t cheap, but it’s got good optics.”

In addition to its aforementioned cast members, Thunderbolts* is also set to star Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Lewis Pullman as Bob a.k.a. Sentry, and Geraldine Viswanathan as the personal assistant to Louis-Dreyfus’ Val. It marks the MCU debut of director Jake Schreier (Paper Towns) and counts Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo among its writers. The film’s creative team is, in other words, one of the most exciting of any MCU movie in recent memory, which may be partly why it already looks so much more unique and assured than, say, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania or this year’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

The newest Thunderbolts* trailer may even reveal the reason for the asterisk in the film’s title. As Red Guardian tries to proclaim his new team the Thunderbolts, he meets resistance about the name from Bucky, Ghost, and Yelena. The asterisk seems, therefore, to be either in reference to the team’s disagreement over the name or a potential hint that the Thunderbolts title won’t be as permanent as Harbour’s Alexei may hope. Fans will get to find out more about the team and their future in the MCU, though, when Thunderbolts* finally hits theaters next year.

Marvel’s Thunderbolts* is set to be released on May 2, 2025.