the greatest Westerns of all time. Along with Clint Eastwood, he’s probably the actor who is most synonymous with the genre, and his filmography is littered with gems that have stood the test of time. That said, The Duke starred in a lot of flicks during his lengthy career, so it’s only natural that some of them flew under the radar. This brings us to “Thunder Riders of the Golden West,” a neo-Western with sci-fi elements.
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“Thunder Riders of the Golden West,” which was directed by Wayne’s long-time friend Dave Burleson, was released in the 1980s — years after The Duke’s death in 1979. It tells the story of a group of truckers who go searching for gold on a site where some atomic bomb tests are taking place, with the explosions presumably inciting whatever sci-fi shenanigans go down. Calling “Thunder Riders of the Golden West” one of Wayne’s most underrated movies is an understatement, as it’s so difficult to track down that it’s impossible to rate. According to its director, it was the Duke’s final on-screen role, although it wasn’t the last film he shot. As such, filming must have taken place before Wayne’s official cinematic swan song in 1976’s “The Shootist.”
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As of this writing, Burleson’s film doesn’t even have its own IMDb or Wikipedia page, let alone a home media release (although it was slated to come out on DVD back in 2009). With that in mind, is there any chance of “Thunder Riders of the Golden West” ever seeing the light of day?
Thunder Riders of the Golden West appears to be lost
Paramount Pictures
“Thunder Riders of the Golden West” has yet to receive the home media release that was first reported back in 2009. According to an article published that same year by Gizmodo, Dave Burleson planned on distributing the DVD by himself at the time of his announcement. However, no details on where one could purchase it were ever provided.
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If there are copies of “Thunder Riders of the Golden West” floating around, they are very well hidden. As it stands, the sci-fi Western appears to have been lost to the sands of time, destined to remain a cult curiosity until it’s uncovered and given an official release.
Wayne didn’t star in any other sci-fi movies during his storied career (although he was part of an early horror Western called “Phantom Gold”), which makes this seemingly lost project even more interesting. If nothing else, “Thunder Riders of the Golden West” would be intriguing to watch just to see Wayne operating outside of his usual wheelhouse — even his role was nothing more than a cameo, which it probably was due to the independent nature of the project. Hopefully, the movie sees the light of day at some point, but for now, we will just have to be patient.
the people around baby Judith keep dropping like flies, she stays strong through it all. Then in season 9, after a surprise time jump, Judith is old enough to be a proper character with lines and a personality. Played by Cailey Fleming, 10-year-old Judith has all the toughness and courage that her father Rick was known for.
There’s just one problem: is Rick Judith’s father? Or could Judith’s real father be that dastardly Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal), who had a fling with Lori for a few weeks before she figured out she was pregnant? Mathematically it seems like Shane’s the more likely parent, but fans can certainly make the case for Rick…
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Realistically, Judith’s father is probably Shane
AMC
The case for Shane being Judith’s father is simple: Rick spent several weeks at the hospital in a coma. During those weeks the apocalypse happened, and at some point Lori and Shane started hooking up. The exact timeline is intentionally left fuzzy by the show, but the scenes we do get of Lori and Shane in the early episodes imply that they’ve been having unprotected sex on a regular basis.
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After Rick and Lori reunite, they have sex at least once before Lori finds out she’s pregnant, but they quickly start having marital troubles as Rick finds out everything that’s happened. To put it simply: there were many more opportunities for Shane to impregnate Lori than for Rick, although it is technically possible that it was Rick who did the deed.
Because DNA tests are hard to find in the apocalypse, both Lori and Rick seem content to just assume Rick’s the father and not really dwell on it. Shane, however, fully believes the baby is his, and his possessiveness towards Lori and her unborn child is a big part of what turns him increasingly vindictive and unstable throughout “The Walking Dead” season 2. If Rick hadn’t killed him in “Better Angels,” it’s clear that Shane would’ve kept thinking of the baby as his own, and would’ve kept feuding with Rick because of this.
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After the time jump, fans were observing Judith closely for any signs of Shane-esque behavior. All she needed to do was rub the back of her head and the jig would be up, but instead she act more like how you’d expect the daughter of Rick Grimes to behave. Physically, she doesn’t seem to share many similarities with either father. (Honestly, she doesn’t even look much like Lori either.) It seems that when it comes to the question of Judith’s biological father, the answer is entirely up to fans to decide.
But who does Rick think the father is?
AMC
A notable piece of evidence in the “Shane’s the father” camp, and one I think fans put too much stock in, is a season 7 scene where Rick straight up says, “I know Judith isn’t mine. I know it. I love her, she’s my daughter but she isn’t mine. I had to accept that.”
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Some fans take this as confirmation of Judith’s parenthood, but others interpret it as Rick simply explaining his decision-making process. He “accepts” that Judith is Shane’s biological daughter so that he doesn’t have to constant wonder what the truth is. If he can accept the worst-case scenario and still love Judith, then he knows his relationship with her will be fine no matter what. This ties into the argument Rick’s making to Michonne throughout the scene: that they (the Alexandrians at war with Negan) need to accept the worst possible outcome of a situation from the start, so that it won’t nag at them and cloud their judgment going forward.
But even if you do take Rick’s words at face value here, the takeaway for Judith is still the same. In all the ways that count, she’s Rick’s daughter. He’s the one who raised her (for those first few years at least), and it’s his and Michonne’s values she grew up learning. Even if Judith got her DNA tested and found conclusive evidence that she wasn’t Rick’s daughter, hopefully she’d know not to pay it any mind.
Netflix’s “Squid Game” will conclude with season 3, putting an end to one of the streaming platform’s biggest international success stories. Since season 2 was both exciting and underwhelming, the third and final installment of the Korean smash hit survival drama is facing no shortage of expectations to end the series on a positive and adequately thrilling note.
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“Squid Game” season 2 certainly left no shortage of opportunities to do so, either. The aftermath of Seong Gi-hun’s (Lee Jung-jae) failed rebellion will no doubt put the surviving contestants through an even bigger physical and emotional wringer than anything the series has shown us before — as teased by the weird “Squid Game” season 2 post-credits scene, which introduces a version of the infamous Red Light, Green Light game that features two gigantic, motion-detecting robot dolls.
Gi-hun’s increasingly personal animosity with the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) has turned this particular installment of the Squid Game into a philosophical struggle over the souls of humanity. Will Gi-hun’s message of humankind’s inherent morality win over the Front Man’s nihilistic worldview? Or will the few rays of hope the show has provided perish with the protagonist? The first teaser trailer for “Squid Game” season 3 offers no conclusive answers … but it does confirm that the stakes are higher than ever.
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Squid Game’s adorable mother-son duo face a terrible choice
Netflix
What better way to quell another uprising than by making the rebels turn on one another? That’s especially easy to do in “Squid Game,” where the players are inevitably pitted against each other until their numbers are whittled down to a single surviving victor. One of the games teased in the season 3 trailer (probably the next game, based on how many surviving players there still are) sees players issued either a red or a blue ball, dividing them into teams.
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Landing on opposite teams are two fan-favorite characters: fierce, doting mother Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim) and her hapless gambling-addicted failson Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun). The duo seemed doomed to a heartbreaking conclusion from the start, but this trailer suggests the worst possible scenario: that one of them will end up actively causing the other’s death.
That’s not the only big tease in the “Squid Game” season 3 trailer. It ends with the sound of a baby crying, promising a resolution to Kang No-eul’s (Park Gyu-young) search for her lost daughter. Will it be a happy resolution? Well, this is “Squid Game,” so the odds aren’t great. Fortunately, the wait to find out isn’t much longer.
“Squid Game” season 3 releases June 27, 2025, on Netflix.
As has become annual tradition, the British Film Institute (BFI) has unveiled its 2025 crop of “Great 8” movies, eight features from the “most exciting first-time and early career filmmakers” that it will showcase to international distributors and festival programmers in the run-up to and during the Marché du Film market taking place during the Cannes Film Festival.
They include a movie directed by actor and creative Ashley Walters (Netflix hit Adolescence, Top Boy, Missing You) with Stephen Graham, a drama thriller starring George MacKay and Rosy McEwen, a drama featuring Rory Kinnear and Maria Bakalova, a thriller set in an isolated deaf community, and a Welsh alternative period drama with Rupert Everett.
“Now in its eighth year, the 2025 Great 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council, with thanks to BBC Film and Film4,” the BFI said. “In preparation for the Marché, unseen footage from all of the titles will be introduced by their filmmakers and screened online exclusively to buyers and festival programmers” from Thursday, May 8.
Briony Hanson, the British Council’s director of film, said that the selection of new movies “shows once again that U.K. film is in rude health with an upcoming slate that we can be proud of. Again, this shows off the range of new U.K. talent, with hard-hitting social commentary sitting alongside broad comedy, with voices representing England, Scotland and Wales, and with a significant selection of stories exploring traditionally under-represented communities.”
Agnieszka Moody, BFI head of international relations, highlighted the “range of unique and original voices from across the U.K.” featured in the selection. “Great 8 gives that invaluable opportunity to help them be discovered by the international film community and by doing so rewards their creativity and accelerates their careers.”
Here is the 2025 crop of Great8 titles…
Animol U.K., drama Director: Ashley Walters Writer: Nick Love Producers: Thomas Hawkins, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Nick Love, Ashley Walters Cast: Tut Nyuot, Vladyslav Baliuk, Stephen Graham, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Sekou Diaby Production: Sky, Film4, BFI, Joi Productions, Rogue State Productions, SLNda Sales: Bankside Films
‘Animol’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Animol tells the story of 15-year-old Troy, who is remanded in custody for a murder he didn’t commit. Thrown into a notorious Young Offenders’ Institution, he tries to keep his head down and stay out of trouble—but survival isn’t easy when everyone wants something from you. Amid the chaos, Troy finds an unexpected ally in Krystiyan, another young inmate struggling to navigate the same volatile world. A powerful and tender coming-of-age drama, Animol explores the shattering of innocence, the grip of tribalism, and the courage it takes to be your true self in the harshest of environments.
More: Ashley Walters is a celebrated and award-winning actor, director, producer, and recording artist, known for his seismic role within Black London culture and the UK entertainment industry. He first rose to prominence as part of the pioneering U.K. Garage collective So Solid Crew, whose No.1 single “21 Seconds” earned them a BRIT Award. His breakthrough acting role came in Bullet Boy (2004), earning him a BIFA for Most Promising Newcomer. Ashley is best known for his portrayal of Dushane in Top Boy, a defining series in British television, with five seasons spanning Channel 4 and Netflix. In 2017, he founded his production company, SLNda, to champion new talent and culturally resonant stories, making his directorial debut with the short film Boys for Sky. Most recently, Ashley directed on Steven Knight’s A Thousand Blows for Disney+/Hulu and starred in Netflix hits Missing You and Adolescence, which broke U.K. viewing records.
Ish U.K., coming of age Director: Imran Perretta Writers: Imran Perretta, Enda Walsh Producers: Dhiraj Mahey, Bennett McGhee Cast: Farhan Hasnat, Yahya Kitana, Avin Shah, Sudha Bhuchar, Joy Crookes, Arman Mohammed, Is’haaq Hasan Haque, Hasnain Shah Production: Produced by Primal Pictures in association with Home Team, Good Chaos. Financiers: BBC Film, BFI. Additional support: Calculus Media, Out of Order Sales: Film Constellation
‘Ish’
Courtesy of Lara Cornell
Synopsis: Ish follows two best friends, Ish and Maram, on the cusp of being teenagers. In a society where racial profiling ensures brown boys are constantly under surveillance, their friendship is ended by a traumatic police stop-and-search. Ish soon discovers that ‘letting go’ can be the hardest part of growing up.
More: Imran Perretta is a writer, director, visual artist and composer from London. Achieving critical acclaim in the world of contemporary art, his sound and moving image work has been performed and shown at galleries and festivals internationally and is included in a number of public and private art collections including the Tate and the Arts Council England. Imran’s most recent film work The Destructors toured major institutions across the U.K. Following the debut of The Destructors, Imran was named a Turner Prize Bursary winner in 2020. His current exhibition, A Riot In Three Acts, is currently on tour and features a new suite of music for string quartet, A Requiem for the Dispossessed, and performed by the Manchester Camerata. In addition to the Turner Prize Bursary, Imran was named a Jarman Award nominee in 2019, and was a recipient of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Artist Award in 2023.
Learningto Breathe Under Water U.K./Ireland/Netherlands, drama Director: Rebekah Fortune Writer: Richard Brabin Cast: Rory Kinnear, Maria Bakalova, Ezra Carlisle Producers: Jack Tarling, Patrick O’Neill Cast: Zubin Varla, Sudha Bhuchar, Sarag Arya, Robert Ryan Production: A Shudder Films and Wildcard production in co-production with KeyFilm & One Wave Films and in association with Eiru Films. Financiers: Screen Ireland, UK Global Screen Fund, Ffilm Cymru Wales, WRAP Fund, Netherlands Film Fund, Dias Feld, Finite Films, Bankside Films and Three Point Capital. Sales: Bankside Films
‘Learning to Breathe Under Water’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Leo is eight, curious, wise and full of imagination. His best friend is a massive shark — half sculpture, half myth — that crashed through the roof of his house one night when his dad, Peter, gave shape to what he couldn’t say out loud. Leo’s world is full of questions: why do grown-ups act so strangely? Where did Mum go five years ago? And will Dad ever come down from the clouds — or at least remember to do the shopping? Peter’s either buried in big, bonkers art projects or barely speaking, so Leo daydreams vividly and shares his secrets with the shark, who might just be listening but can’t speak back. Then Anya bursts into their lives: a spirited au pair with her own questions to shatter the silence and answers more honest than Leo has ever heard before. Her fearless warmth and energy brings back colour to their world and uplifts their lives.
More: Rebekah Fortune is an autistic director based in Tamworth, currently in post on her second feature, Learning to Breathe Under Water, which stars BAFTA-nominated Rory Kinnear and Oscar-nominated Maria Bakalova, produced by Kneecap producers Jack Tarling and Patrick O’Neill. Rebekah’s micro-budget debut feature Just Charlie was released to critical acclaim in 2017 receiving many awards including the Audience Award at Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival Ecrans Junior Award, and was nominated for two BIFAs. Just Charlie secured distribution worldwide. Her portfolio of short films has won numerous Oscar and BAFTA qualifying festivals. She has mentored for BFI Network, sat on the BAFTA short film jury, and is an alumni of Network@LFF, Edinburgh Talent Lab, BIFA springboard, Screen Yorkshire Flex and Breaking Through the Lens, along with being a finalist for the Academy Gold Fellowship. Additionally, Rebekah works extensively with young actors with Disabilities.
Madfabulous Wales/U.K., alternative period drama Director: Celyn Jones Writer: Lisa Baker Producers: Sean Marley, Nadia Jaynes Cast: Callum Scott Howells, Ruby Stokes, Rupert Everett, Paul Rhys, Siobhán McSweeney Production: Mad as Birds, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Creative Wales Sales: Sean Marley sean@madasbirdsfilms.com
‘Madfabulous’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: A riotous, uncompromising celebration of otherness inspired by the unlikely British aristocrat who theatrically bankrupted his estate, lived fast and died young. When the flamboyant Henry Paget arrives in 1890s North Wales from France to claim his aristocratic inheritance, his theatrical flair and defiant eccentricities send shockwaves through the upper-class elite, much to the amusement of the local townspeople. Alongside his spirited cousin Lily and loyal butler Gelert, Henry tries to carve out his own identity as the Fifth Marquess, while contending with the cold ambition of his calculating cousin Neville and the looming threat of the ruthless Lord Penrhyn. Together, Henry and Lily navigate suffocating traditions, scheming relatives, and the long shadow cast by Henry’s estranged father. Madfabulous is inspired by Henry Paget, the fifth Marquis of Anglesey, who smashed society’s notions of class, gender and decorum, squandering a multimillion fortune before his untimely death. They left nothing behind but love… and a good story.
More: Celyn Jones is a critically acclaimed, award-winning actor and BAFTA-nominated writer from Wales, as well as creative director of production company Mad as Birds. The Times praised him as “the powerhouse writer/performer behind the greatest Dylan Thomas biopic yet.” He won a BAFTA Cymru Award in 2019 for his portrayal of a real-life serial killer in Manhunt, but in recent years has focused increasingly on writing and directing. Jones wrote and co-directed The Almond and the Seahorse, in which he also stars opposite Rebel Wilson and Charlotte Gainsbourg; the film premiered at the Zurich and Dinard film festivals, winning the Special Jury Prize. Madfabulous marks his debut as a solo director.
Mission U.K., drama thriller Director/writer: Paul Wright Producers: Kate Byers, Alex Thiele, Linn Waite, Marie-Elena Dyche, Lowri Roberts Cast: George MacKay, Rosy McEwen Production: Early Day Films, 65 Wilding Films, Meraki Films, Rapt, BBC Film, Screen Scotland, Ffilm Cymru Wales Sales: Blue Finch Films
‘Mission’
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Mission is a punk exploration of the psyche which follows alienated Dylan (George MacKay) as he throws off the shackles of his solitary life in an attempt to experience the highs and lows of existence at its most extreme. Estranged from his sister Claire (Rosy McEwen), he embarks on a thrilling journey of self-discovery that proves both inspiring and terrifying.
More: Paul Wright is a critically acclaimed BAFTA-winning Scottish writer/director whose work has played internationally at festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and Locarno. An NFTS graduate, his short films have received international acclaim and awards, including winning the BAFTA for Best Short Film, The Leopard of Tomorrow Award at Locarno, and screened in numerous prestige film festivals worldwide. His feature debut For Those In Peril premiered in the Cannes Critics’ Week, won the BAFTA Scotland Best Film award and the BIFA Douglas Hickox Award for Directorial Debut. Paul was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British writer/director. He has most recently completed Arcadia, a provocative and poetic documentary. The film screened at numerous festivals including BFI London Film Festival, Glasgow Film Festival, and MOMA in New York, before being released theatrically nationwide to critical acclaim.
On the Sea U.K., drama Director/writer: Helen Walsh Producers: David Moores, David A Hughes; Executive Producers: Mike Goodridge, Chris Clark Cast: Barry Ward, Lorne MacFadyen, Liz White, Henry Lawfull, Celyn Jones Production: Red Union Films Sales: David Moores dmoores@redunionfilms.com, Mike Goodridge mike@goodchaos.co.uk
‘On the Sea’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Jack has been married to Maggie for over half his life. He works as a Hand Raker on the mussel beds in North Wales alongside his younger brother, Dyfan, and Dyfan’s three sons. Jack has always assumed that his own boy, Tom, will join the family business on leaving school but Tom’s resistance to follow in his footsteps creates familial tension. Tensions are further inflamed by the arrival of an itinerant deckhand, Daniel, who makes known his feelings for Jack. In this remote, rural community where life revolves around Church and fishery, Jack is faced with an impossible dilemma. On The Sea is a beautiful, sensual and at times, tragic exploration of masculinity, place and desire.
More: Helen Walsh’s debut novel Brass won the Betty Trask Award and was the most widely reviewed book of 2004. Natasha Walters, writing in Vogue, called it, “One of the most striking coming of age stories I have ever read.” Her second novel Once Upon a Time in England won the Somerset Maugham Prize and The Lemon Grove, her most recent, was a critically acclaimed best-seller that she is currently adapting for TV. Helen wrote and directed her debut feature, The Violators, in 2016 and was awarded BAFTA’s breakthrough new director. Her recent Channel 4 show, The Gathering (2024), which she created and wrote was the recipient of three RTS Awards. On The Sea, is her sophomore feature and will be released in 2025.
Retreat U.K., thriller Director/writer: Ted Evans Producers: Michelle Stein, Jennifer Monks, Alex Usborne Cast: Anne Zander, James Boyle, Sophie Stone,Ace Mahbaz, Anna Seymour Production: BFI, BBC Film and Creative UK present a The Fold and 104 Films Production Sales: XYZ Films
‘Retreat’ film still 2
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Raised in an isolated deaf community, cracks begin to appear in Matt’s seemingly idyllic world when the arrival of enigmatic outsider Eva forces him to question the realities of his identity. Is Matt prepared to discover what lies beneath the surface of his supposedly utopian community and the costs demanded to maintain it?
More: Ted Evans is a writer-director is from Hackney, East London and communicates in both spoken English and British Sign Language. In 2012 he co-wrote and directed two films for the Paralympic Opening Ceremony – Look Up and Bird Gherl. Evans received international and critical acclaim for his award-winning shorts, The End and Retreat, the latter of which he has adapted as his debut feature film, with production company The Fold supported by the BFI and BBC Film. He directed a documentary, featuring Rose Ayling-Ellis, Signs for Change, which aired on BBC1 after being showcased at Sheffield Doc Fest (2023) and netted him an Emerging Talent: Factual BAFTA nomination. In 2018 he was selected as part of Creative England’s CE50 and his most recent short film To Know Him was nominated for Best Short Film at BIFA 2018.
THE SON AND THE SEA U.K., drama Director: Stroma Cairns Writers: Imogen West, Stroma Cairns Producers: Imogen West, Kelly Peck Cast: Jonah West, Stanley Brock, Connor Tompkins, Grant Lindsay Production: BBC Film, In The Company Of, Studio Cloy, Moment Film Group, Creativity Media, Creativity Capital Sales: Kelly Peck kelly@studiocloy.com, Imogen West imogen imogen@inthecompanyof.co
‘The Son and the Sea’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Jonah (26), charismatically ADHD, is a man-child who keeps on slipping, whilst his best mate, Lee (26), nimbly climbs every ladder. After hitting yet another bump and under pressure to see his great-aunt, who is lost to dementia, Jonah contrives that he and Lee go visit, hoping it might also offer respite from himself and the mess he’s creating. Though the north-east coast of Scotland wasn’t quite what Lee envisioned, it holds a certain wildness and wonder. There, they meet Charlie (26), who is profoundly Deaf and attempting to clean up after his shady twin brother. Through a developing friendship that surpasses their language barriers, the three boys form a connection that encourages them to step out of their boyhood, discover the courage to be vulnerable, and that joy is possible despite loss.
More: Stroma Cairns is a BAFTA-winning director based in London. The Son and the Sea will be her debut feature. The film is an ode to her Scottish roots, her brother and his father/musician Gavin Clark. The film features music by Gavin Clark and the score is by Toydrum (former UNKLE members). Stroma directed the second block of the BAFTA winning TV series Mood. She was selected for BFI NETWORK x BAFTA Crew mentoring programme. Previously, her short film If You Knew premiered at Sheffield DocFest, and went on to receive the jury’s special commendation award at the BFI London Film Festival. It was also named Best Short Film at Open City Doc Festival and was shortlisted for a Grierson Award. The film was inspired by her own hearing loss and portrays a day in the life of two teenage twins who are profoundly Deaf.
“Captain America: Brave New World” unfortunately experienced to its detriment. Other times, it can be a result of a creative team trying to find the best possible ideas on the fly. And then there’s that secret third option, where actors’ schedules simply get in the way of the original plan. That’s what happened with Steven Yeun’s original casting as Bob/Sentry/the Void in “Thunderbolts*,” a parting of ways that became necessary as a result of the duel WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023 and the delaying of Marvel’s latest team-up movie to 2025. That role ultimately went to Lewis Pullman, and it’s safe to say things worked out for the best, based on the critical and audience reactions to his performance and the overall character.
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Now, however, we’re finally getting our first look at how Yeun would’ve appeared as Sentry, fully suited up and showing off the nifty-looking costume in all its glory. That comes courtesy of a leaked and awfully blurry image of official concept art posted by a fan account on X (formerly known as Twitter), which /Film can independently confirm to be the real deal. You’ll have to click the link above since we can’t actually reproduce the artwork here without getting caught in the crossfire of those infamous Marvel snipers. But for those curious about catching a glimpse into the alternate universe where studios didn’t choose to usher in a completely unnecessary industry shutdown over pennies and the “Mickey 17,” “Beef,” and “Nope” star actually stayed on board the project, well, today’s your lucky day!
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Marvel fans sound off on Steven Yeun’s original casting in Thunderbolts
Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios
Two things can be true at once: Lewis Pullman did an excellent job as Bob, the much more normal-looking alter ego to the super-powered Sentry/the Void, and it would’ve been mighty interesting to see what Steven Yeun could’ve done in the same role. Social media isn’t necessarily known for its nuance so, naturally, superhero movie fans have been busy pitting both actors against each other in a purely hypothetical debate over which version of the film would’ve been better. This is why we can’t have nice things, people!
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In all seriousness, this is a fascinating glimpse into the what-ifs behind “Thunderbolts*” (to use the film’s non-spoiler-y title) and the ripple effects that Yeun’s original casting could’ve had on the rest of the movie. Would director Jake Schreier and screenwriters Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo have played up Bob’s dorkiness in the early going if it weren’t for Pullman’s portrayal, which channels a very similar energy to his performance in “Top Gun: Maverick”? Would audiences have even bought that coming from an actor like Yeun, who has established himself as a dramatic force with movies such as “Minari” and “Burning”? (Granted, he was pretty silly in “Okja.”) What’s certain is that we would’ve definitely missed out on fun social media posts like this one by Paramount Pictures, poking some light fun at his coincidentally-named character Bob in the “Top Gun” sequel:
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That’s our Bob. pic.twitter.com/8kApcZGPUL
— Paramount Pictures (@ParamountPics) May 2, 2025
Either way, it’s safe to say that things are working out just fine for both actors. Yeun has already appeared in a superhero series earlier this year as the voice of Mark Grayson in “Invincible” season 3, while the “Thunderbolts*” end-credits scene sets up Pullman’s future as Bob in the MCU. “Thunderbolts*” is currently playing in theaters.
A new, unlikely term has been added to the lexicon of stealth Hollywood marketing stunts — a pesky asterisk.
On Monday, after weeks plotting and planning, Disneys vast marketing machine at last answered the question of why Marvel Studios‘ early summer tentpole is titled Thunderbolts* instead of just Thunderbolts. It turns out the asterisk alludes to a secondary title or tag,*The New Avengers.
But don’t be confused — Disney and Marvel aren’t officially changing the title to Thunderbolts: The New Avengers. Rather, using *The New Avengers is a way to drum up post-opening interest in the film, which brings together a set of misfit MCU outsiders and lesser-known characters who discover their more heroic side when duped by the villainous CIA director Valentine Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). In particular, they want to protect newcomer Bob (Lewis Pullman), who suffers from a mental illness that has catastrophic consequences after he’s subjected to cruel experimentation.
The official OG Avengers superhero franchise is Marvel’s crown jewel, so it’s no wonder why Kevin Feige and Disney, which owns the studio, would want to connect the two. But the last thing they want is to create consumer chaos and have people thinking that next year’s Avengers: Doomsday is Thunderbolts 2 or, conversely, that the latter is part of the official Avengers series.
At the same time, it’s true that several actors from Thunderbolts* are in Doomsday, including Pugh, Pullman, Sebastian Stan (The Winter Soldier), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), David Harbour (Red Guardian) and Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost). And there’s no saying beyond that what the future brings.
Disney marketing chief Asad Ayaz and his team thought long and hard about the timing of the *The New Avengers reveal, and ultimately decided to wait until the Monday after the pic’s opening so as to avoid spoilers as much as possible. In early screenings, they asked fanboys to go along with the ruse and not spoil for others.
The ensemble cast had plenty of fun being in on the gag and participated in a video revealing the payoff title that dropped mid-morning on Monday. Digital materials with the reveal are being dispatched to some theaters, highlighted on the film’s social handles and placed on outdoor billboard in select markets, including the much-sought after billboard known as the Sunset Wall high above West Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard close to Beverly Hills.
A flurry of marketing activities were scheduled for filmmaker Jake Schreier‘s project throughout the day, including a Sunset Wall billboard before-and-after reveal and a video of a new Wheaties popcorn box featuring *New Avengers instead of Thunderbolts* (the cereal giant is a promotional partner on the film). There will also be collectible one-sheet giveaways in certain cinemas.
There are also a number of theater circuits taking part in the marketing switch in the coming days. Imax, Dolby Cinema and other premium-large format screens will share revised displays, while there will be retitled one-sheets in more than 600 theaters. There will be also be updated digital standees in more than 40 theaters, including the digital marquee at the Regal E-Walk in New York City and the Disney-owned El Capitan in Hollywood.
And that’s just in the U.S. Overseas, there will be a number of promotions, including select graffiti stunts highlighting the new unofficial name.
Over the May 2-3 weekend, Thunderbolts* opened to $74.5 million from 4,330 theaters, a solid but not rip-roaring start (Sunday’s estimate was $76 million), according to weekend actuals. While Marvel and Disney would no doubt have liked north of $80 million, the biggest factor in its fate will be how the $180 million movie legs out.
On Monday, Stan himself got his hands dirty, putting up a new poster on a bus stop featuring his Winter Soldier character and the new title.
