Watch "Big Game" trailer for Marvel's "Thunderbolts*"

Checkout the "Big Game" trailer for Marvel's "Thunderbolts*"

By Chris Morgan | Last updated Feb 10, 2025 11:35 PM ET

The culmination of the NFL season, colloquially (and litigiously) known as the Super Bowl, remains the world's foremost repository for big-swing marketing. As the Philadelphia Eagles were lambasting the Kansas City Chiefs we were treated to a litany of sweat, effort-saturated attempts at "totally random" commercials, but a few studios also released new trailers for the occasion. Foremost among those was the "Big Game" trailer for Marvel's upcoming "Thunderbolts*" movie.

It feels significant that Marvel opted for "Thunderbolts*" to be the 2025 film that got the Super Bowl ad. There seems to be a lot of push behind The Fantastic Four: First Steps as the major Marvel movie of the last few years, while the vibe for Captain America: Brave New World has been, "Umm...want to see Harrison Ford as a red version of the Hulk, maybe?"

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How much Marvel would get behind "Thunderbolts*," and its potential for success, has remained a mystery as we approach its release. The villainous anti-heroes collected together for the movie are Marvel's answer to DC's Suicide Squad, but the two bites at the Suicide Squad apple DC has taken have yielded muted success. Giving "Thunderbolts*" a Super Bowl showcase certainly won't hurt given the explanation necessitated for much of the film-going viewership.

"Thunderbolts*" will be released on May 2.

Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

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