Mind-Blowing Marvel Studios movie Shatters Expectations

Rethinking Our Expectations

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been a constant in the entertainment industry since 2008, with its highs and lows. The cycle of proclamations claiming, “Marvel is over!” followed by, “Marvel is back!” has grown tiresome because neither is true. Marvel is simply here, a constant that, like all long-running franchises, and like the comics it’s based on, has its highs and lows.

Reactions to the subsequent entries moved up and down the chart from there. The fatigue of superhero discourse: what we want from comic book films. Much of this comes down to expectation and what we believe these films will be or should be, spurred on by “scoopers” feeding the rumor mills with falsehood. But every so often, one of these MCU films comes around and shakes us out of our expectations and desire to have them fulfilled just as we imagined, or as the comics have foretold.

The Trouble with Morbius: Subjectivity, Expectations, and the Need for Nuance

The reaction surrounding Morbius has left me somewhat disillusioned by the notions of subjectivity and giving films their fair shot. Morbius is a film I enjoyed quite a lot and think maintains the spirit of the ’90s comic books I grew up reading. I was thoroughly entertained. That’s not the consensus, and that’s OK. The film is currently sitting at a harsh 15 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with a higher audience score of 64 percent, but I’ve never been obliged to base my enjoyment on consensus.

I’m not troubled by those who genuinely didn’t like it. Though I think “worst Marvel movie since Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four” is severely exaggerated, considering that film was barely a movie. It’s not even the worst Marvel movie in the past five years, but I digress. What I find troubling is the number of critics and potential audience members who’ve been inclined to trash this movie since it was announced, taking to social media to repeatedly voice their disdain at the very concept of a studio other than Disney making a film about a character they’re unfamiliar with.

The delays from COVID-19 only extended that issue, giving more time for folks to sharpen their knives because of some misbegotten idea that the only way to make superhero movies is the way Marvel Studios does it, and sometimes — and I stress only sometimes — how Warner Bros. does it. And I can’t help but wonder if people actually care about these characters, or are they just in it for a cameo from someone more popular or the teaser for the next thing so that they can keep the hype train moving and never have to sit back and reflect on a story on its own terms.

Beyond the Hype: Reflecting on the Stories and Characters that Matter

I simply can’t place my faith in reviews and opinions from critics or audience members who have spent their months wishing for the film’s failure, went into the theater looking for things to hate, handed out half-star ratings on Letterboxd while admitting they hadn’t seen it, and are upset that Spider-Man doesn’t show up in a movie that’s not about him. Yet, that hate is popular. It receives social media engagement, encourages hyperbole and turns film criticism into a game of memes, a competition of who can lay down the sickest burns in an age where we think of almost any form of mass-distributed entertainment as “content,” rather than something made by people who more often than not care about their work.

So frequently, it feels that any superhero movie that’s released has to be forced into the realms of “best” or “worst.” Every Marvel Studios project that comes out carries the expectation of it being “the best ever!” I say this as a fan, but “best” has lost its meaning in that regard. Take Moon Knight for example, which premiered this week. It’s a good debut, but already it’s being proclaimed as “the best Marvel series premiere ever,” which OK, I’d be more inclined to value if that wasn’t also said about Hawkeye, Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and WandaVision.

The same thing could be said in regards to DC Films “finally finding its footing.” You’d think that after the critical reception to Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Shazam, Birds of Prey, Joker, The Suicide Squad, and The Batman that it’s fully stable, but that narrative doesn’t gain as much traction on social media as the idea that DC is chasing Marvel and stumbling in the process. The language through which we discuss these movies has become rote and stale, their value devalued.

Marketing Magic: The Art of Stealth and Surprise

A new, unlikely term has been added to the lexicon of stealth Hollywood marketing stunts — a pesky asterisk. On Monday, after weeks of plotting and planning, Disney’s vast marketing machine at last answered the question of why Marvel Studios’ early summer tentpole is titled Thunderbolts* instead of just Thunderbolts.

It turns out the asterisk alludes to a secondary title or tag, The New Avengers. But don’t be confused — Disney and Marvel aren’t officially changing the title to Thunderbolts: The New Avengers. Rather, using The New Avengers is a way to drum up post-opening interest in the film, which brings together a set of misfit MCU outsiders and lesser-known characters who discover their more heroic side when duped by the villainous CIA director Valentine Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).

The Asterisk: How Disney and Marvel Created a Buzz Around Thunderbolts*

The official OG Avengers superhero franchise is Marvel’s crown jewel, so it’s no wonder why Kevin Feige and Disney, which owns the studio, would want to connect the two. But the last thing they want is to create consumer chaos and have people thinking that next year’s Avengers: Doomsday is Thunderbolts 2 or, conversely, that the latter is part of the official Avengers series.

At the same time, it’s true that several actors from Thunderbolts are in Doomsday, including Pugh, Pullman, Sebastian Stan (The Winter Soldier), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), David Harbour (Red Guardian), and Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost). And there’s no saying beyond that what the future brings. Disney marketing chief Asad Ayaz and his team thought long and hard about the timing of the The New Avengers reveal, and ultimately decided to wait until the Monday after the pic’s opening so as to avoid spoilers as much as possible. In early screenings, they asked fanboys to go along with the ruse and not spoil for others.

The New Avengers Cereal Box: A Marketing Stunt that Paid Off

The ensemble cast had plenty of fun being in on the gag and participated in a video revealing the payoff title that dropped mid-morning on Monday. Digital materials with the reveal are being dispatched to some theaters, highlighted on the film’s social handles, and placed on outdoor billboards in select markets, including the much-sought-after billboard known as the Sunset Wall high above West Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard close to Beverly Hills.

The New Avengers cereal box display at the Universal City Walk AMC. 📸: @Culture3ase pic.twitter.com/14NWQj4WjK — *The New Avengers News (@tbolts_news) May 5, 2025

A flurry of marketing activities were scheduled for filmmaker Jake Schreier’s project throughout the day, including a Sunset Wall billboard before-and-after reveal and a video of a new Wheaties popcorn box featuring New Avengers instead of Thunderbolts (the cereal giant is a promotional partner on the film). There will also be collectible one-sheet giveaways in certain cinemas. There are also a number of theater circuits taking part in the marketing switch in the coming days. Imax, Dolby Cinema, and other premium-large format screens will share revised displays, while there will be retitled one-sheets in more than 600 theaters. There will be also be updated digital standees in more than 40 theaters, including the digital marquee at the Regal E-Walk in New York City and the Disney-owned El Capitan in Hollywood.

And that’s just in the U.S. Overseas, there will be a number of promotions, including select graffiti stunts highlighting the new unofficial name. Over the May 2-3 weekend, Thunderbolts* opened to $74.5 million from 4,330 theaters, a solid but not rip-roaring start (Sunday’s estimate was $76 million), according to weekend actuals. While Marvel and Disney would no doubt have liked north of $80 million, the biggest factor in its fate will be how the $180 million movie legs out.

On Monday, Stan himself got his hands dirty, putting up a new poster on a bus stop featuring him.