WARNING: The following article contains a major spoiler for the ending of the Marvel “Thunderbolts*” film. Viewer discretion is advised.
‘Thunderbolts*’ End Credit Scene
Officially premiering on May 2, audiences have already been attending early previews of the latest Marvel film “Thunderbolts*” on May 1. The film, which is considered the end of Marvel’s Phase Five, is directed by Jake Schreier from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo. “Thunderbolts*” stars several returning characters from the MCU, including Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier, David Harbour as Alexie Shostakov / Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. The cast is also joined by Lewis Pullman as Bob / Sentry.
In addition to finally revealing the real reason for the mystery asterisk at the end of the film’s title, the “Thunderbolts*” ending credit scene sets up a major component of an upcoming Marvel Phase Six film. Phase Six gets underway this summer with the release of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” on July 25, followed by “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” in 2026.
In the scene following the complete “Thunderbolts*” credits, audiences are shown a clip from 14 months after the events of the film. The main cast is standing inside Stark Tower, looking out over the skyline, when an alarm starts sounding about an unknown spacecraft entering the atmosphere. The computer identifies the craft as inter-dimensional. The camera then pans out to show the exterior of the spacecraft, which has a futuristic style with the logo of the Fantastic Four. The characters are not actually shown, just the outside of the spaceship.
This arrival of the Fantastic Four helps set up their presence in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” film, which has been confirmed to include Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch. Most of the cast of “Thunderbolts*” was also revealed to take part in “Doomsday” during Marvel’s now-iconic five-hour livestream of director’s chairs.
The styling of the spacecraft in the film matches the style of the early trailers and leaked concept art for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” Despite their appearance in upcoming films, however, Marvel has confirmed there will be almost no Marvel Easter eggs in “First Steps” to keep the Fantastic Four alone in their own universe for the duration of their origin story.
The Russo Brothers are directing “Avengers: Doomsday” and its follow-up film, “Avengers: Secret Wars.” “Doomsday” will be in theaters on May 1, 2026, and “Secret Wars” will premiere in the following year on May 7. You can watch the full cast announcement for “Doomsday” below.
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