Thunderbolts* might have spoiled its biggest mystery in an unexpected way.

When the film's first trailer was released back in November, an asterisk was added to the title and led to much speculation from fans. Following the release of the film's second trailer at the Superbowl this weekend, a tweet from Marvel Studios' Japan branch might have given the game away.

The post features the film's Japanese poster, with English text at the bottom of the poster reading "*The Avengers are not available".

The post even says (via the Translate option) "What is the hidden meaning behind the asterisk in the title?" before repeating the line from the poster.

thunderbolts logo
Marvel Studios

Related: UK film release dates

So is that it? Is the asterisk all just a big punchline about how this team of anti-heroes is coming to save the day only because the Avengers aren't (similar to how an advert for a free trial might have something like '*free trial only available for new accounts' at the bottom)?

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We won't know for sure until the film itself comes out, of course. There are theories that the group will be renamed to the New Avengers (or even Dark Avengers) by the dodgy Valentina by the end. Following on from the team complaining about the name in the trailer, they might even decide to rename themselves.

thunderbolts, a group of characters in combat outfits standing in a modern high rise building
Marvel Studios

Related: Captain America: Brave New World is a victim of the MCU's need to reset

There's also the fact that Captain America: Brave New World, which releases first (this week, in fact), has Cap fighting President 'Thunderbolt' Ross after he transforms into the Red Hulk.

Red Guardian actor said the asterisk was "very cool" and that he couldn't wait for fans to find out the meaning behind it.

We'll have to wait and what's going on, as Thunderbolts* releases in cinemas on May 2.

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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.