MCU confirms major rebrand and renaming ahead of 'darker turn'

The MCU is set to take a “darker turn” with the release of its next big live-action film, according to the director himself.

The trailers for Thunderbolts* may make things look like a jovial, quippy affair, but I think we’ve all been able to read between the lines (and the shots of people getting disintegrated).

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the upcoming Disney film is set to take a gruesome turn, given the source material for the Thunderbolts*. The original Thunderbolts team in the comics was comprised of a bunch of villains who used to be called The Masters of Evil after all.

However, in a new interview with Empire Magazine's Ben Travis, Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier revealed that they may be sticking a little closer to the source material than we assumed.

“We know what that tower means,” Schreier told Empire, “Who’s the person you would least like to own that tower, that means so much to so many people? Can you use that as a symbol of things taking a darker turn?”

Take a look at the trailer for the film below.

Now we know that Schreier is referring to Julia Louis-Dreyfus's character Valentina Allegra de Fontaine as said owner of here, but part of me wonders if perhaps that’s actually a misdirect for something greater.

Fontaine’s ownership of Stark Tower actually closely mirrors the plot of the Dark Avengers comic series, in which Norman Osborne reshapes the Thunderbolts team into one that more closely resembles the Avengers… after he takes ownership of Stark Tower.

So, could Fontaine’s ownership of Avengers Tower simply be a misdirect, and Disney is actually planning to reveal that Norman Osborne is the one behind the events of Thunderbolts*?

Well, it wouldn’t be unprecedented for Disney to introduce a huge character outside of the film you’d normally associate them with. I mean, Spider-Man was introduced in a Captain America film after all.

But I guess we’ll only find out for sure once Thunderbolts* hits theatres on 1 May.