‘New Avengers’ - A Great Twist Arriving Years Too Late To Save An MCU Done Dirty By Disney+

‘Thunderbolts*’s gleefully cynical reveal was the “Okay, this is the new story we’re telling!” pivot MCU fans have waited on while streaming oversaturation weakened the franchise’s popularity.

Thunderbolts* scored among the lowest global debuts ($160 million) for an MCU movie since 2011, while pulling grosses that would be aspirational to almost any other franchise flick. If, for example, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning were to earn $74 million over the Fri-Sun portion of its Memorial Day weekend launch, that would be a franchise record. This morning’s reveal (it’s not a spoiler if the studio spoils it) is perhaps intended to juice second-weekend interest beyond mere “movie good, actually” value.

However, why should general audiences care that Thunderbolts’ B and C-level superhero cast is “Your new Avengers?” It’s a twist that would have landed far heavier had it occurred much sooner after Avengers: Endgame. It also underlines the extent to which A) the Disney+ shows kneecapped the franchise and B) Marvel Studios (or, more likely, the Disney corporate overlords) at least temporarily forgot why the MCU initially became a pop culture juggernaut.