New rumors say that THUNDERBOLTS* will actually serve as a direct Marvel sequel

Fans can look forward to a brand new group of superheroes joining the MCU in the film Lightning*.

In addition to the great cast, including Florence Pugh in the role of Yelena Belova, Sebastiano Stan as Bucky Barnes, Davide Porto in the role of the Red Guardian, Julie Louis-Dreyfus as Countess Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Wyatt Russell as a US agent, Hannah John-Kamen in the role of Ghost, Lewis Pullman like The Sentinel, and Olga Kurylenko like Taskmaster, we don’t know much about the plot.

And now the film seems even more shrouded in mystery since the asterisk was added to the title about a month ago.

Now we have a new voice to ponder about the story. According to trusted scooper Alex Perez (via CBM), “Lightning* it’s “just a sequel to Black Widow in the same way Civil war was a sequel to Captain America… Yelena deals with the remains of the Red Room and then gets distracted by Thunderbolts*.”

Seeing how Lightning* features characters like Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, and Taskmaster, it’s obvious that fans suspect the story would tie into Black Widow, but a direct sequel is an interesting twist. The presence of Bucky and US Agent on the team also creates a significant connection The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

The Hollywood Reporter may have confirmed this in a recent article, revealing: “[Florence] Pugh, 28, has earned an eight-figure salary for two Marvel films, first Black Widow directed by Scarlett Johansson and then Thunderbolts, where she will be at the top of the call list.”

As for the asterisk in the title, when MCU boss Kevin Feige revealed the title, he said, “Yes, you’ll notice the asterisk on the title.” Lightning*. This is the official title of Lightning* and we won’t talk about it again until the movie comes out.”

So we won’t have any answers on this yet, but fans are speculating and assuming that the title change will lead to a big reveal, potentially setting the stage for the Dark Avengers to assemble.

I think when Marvel made changes by slowing down and refocusing their attention on what they produce, they may have gone back to what made movies exciting in the first place. Only time will tell. It all comes down to great storytelling and I hope that’s what we see in future films.

Lightning* will be released in its theaters on May 5, 2025. In the meantime, we have Deadpool and Wolverine on July 26, 2024 and Captain America: Brave New World on February 14, 2025.