"This marketing is brilliant": Internet reacts as video of Sebastian Stan replacing Thunderbolts* poster with New Avengers title goes viral
Earlier on May 5, 2025, Marvel Studios posted a video on X, starring Sebastian Stan at a bus stop replacing a poster for Marvel's latest installment film Thunderbolts*, with a new one. In the clip, the Marvel star was sporting an all-black casual attire with shades on, and in his hands were several rolled-up posters.
After spotting and replacing an old poster at a bus stop with tape at the top and bottom of the poster's frame, the new poster features the same image of Stan's James "Bucky" Buchanan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, instead of a new title, the new poster reads "*The New Avengers."
More videos of the same incident were posted by fans online, including one from DiscussingFilm on X, which appears to be taken from the opposite side of the street. Meanwhile, the video earned various reactions online, including from a Reddit user who said that it was a "brilliant" marketing tactic.
"This marketing is brilliant, honestly. Changing the name of the film to New Avengers in the 2nd week and staging paparazzi sightings of cast members changing the posters is a great way to get people who were on the fence into theaters," a Reddit user said.
More netizens commented about Sebastian Stan's now-viral video, calling it "out of the box" and "iconic" marketing. Another fan suggested that it teases Marvel's future projects.
"Love when marketing goes out of the box," an X user said.
"This movie is out now... and still has iconic marketing," an X user added.
"They are going above and beyond for marketing on this and it leads me to believe Marvel is absolutely dialed in for the next 10 years," another X user commented.
However, other fans weren't thrilled about the promotional effort from Marvel and Sebastian Stan, saying that it's too soon to do it after Thunderbolts* theatrical release.
"Booooooooo this would be funny after it has been playing for a while. Revealing this after the first weekend makes me not want to see the movie," a user on X commented.
"I just don't understand why they couldn't have at least wait 2 weeks after release instead of 1. This feels like a massive spoiler that I continue to see," another X user said.
More about the Thunderbolts* movie title change after Sebastian Stan's viral video
The change from the movie title Thunderbolts* to *The New Avengers, as seen in Sebastian Stan's latest promo video from Marvel Studios, was a teaser of the ending of the movie, which is now in cinemas. In the third act of the film, Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine announced the new name of the group: the New Avengers.
Sebastian Stan's video is not the first time Marvel did a title switcheroo for Thunderbolts*. Ahead of posting Stan's poster changer on their social media accounts, Marvel also shared a video of Florence Pugh, who plays Yelena Belova in the MCU, ripping a Thunderbolts* movie poster to reveal *The New Avengers title. She was surrounded by other cast members.
Pugh's video appears to have been taken during the film's Los Angeles premiere at the Dolby Theater on April 28, 2025. Moreover, the Thunderbolts* title was also replaced by the new one on at least one billboard, as shared by Marvel Updates on X on May 4, 2025.
Thunderbolts* is currently out in movie theaters.
