The new Thunderbolts teaser namedrops the Avengers twice, less than a day after the cast was confirmed for Doomsday

In a spot of smooth brand synchronicity, the new teaser for Thunderbolts* namedrops the MCU's main team of heroes twice, right on the heels of the cast being announced for Avengers: Doomsday. Now the next major Marvel crossover is underway, it seems the last remaining film in Marvel Phase 5 is starting to give us a little more food for thought.

The 30 second long tease mostly recycles the same footage we've already seen, of the ragtag team coming together to face Sentry, who has a knack for disappearing people in an instant. The first mention of Avengers comes from Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who describes Sentry as "stronger" than every Avenger combined.

Mel, Valentina's assistant portrayed by Geraldine Viswanathan, makes the other, pointing out the "Avengers are gone," and nobody's going to save the world. Sebastian Stan as Bucky is edited to counter-point her statement with a line suggesting the Thunderbolts could be the saviors here.

This comes right after it's been confirmed several members of the Thunderbolts* cast will feature among the heroes in Avengers: Doomsday. Marvel sprang an hours-long livestream on the internet on March 26, 2025, revealing everyone's seat for production of the studio's next tentpole team-up extravaganza.

Stan, Florence Pugh, Lewis Carroll, Wyatt Russell, David Harbour and Hannah John-Kamen are included in a line-up which contains Patrick Stewart, Tom Hiddleston, Alan Cumming, Vanessa Kirby and many more. It's one stacked list of stars.

The notion of the Thunderbolts becoming Avengers probably won't seem too radical by the time the movie's over. In fact, it looks like they quite literally be part of the initiative in some capacity. We might even get a face turn from Sentry by the end!

Thunderbolts* opens in cinemas May 2, 2025. Check out our guide to The Fantastic Four: First Steps to see what’s going on with this year’s other Marvel blockbuster.