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The Thunderbolts* took on the Muppets in the Battle of the Super Bowl Ads... and the Muppets won

The Void who? Marvel Studios' team of ex-baddies should be worried less about a Big Bad, and more about a Pig Ad

You'd think, because of how much we've been covering it over here at Popverse, that Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* trailer was the biggest ad at this year's Super Bowl LIX. We'll, you'd be wrong. See, the ragtag team of Bucky, Yelena, Alexei and more didn't just spend the Super Bowl going toe-to-toe with the Sentry, they tried to take on an even more powerful force: Jim Henson's beloved Muppets. Now that the dust is settled, we can look around the battlefield of brands to determine the champion of their match...

And, well, it wasn't the Thunderbolts.

According to Variety's list of the Most-Watched Super Bowl Ads of 2025, the Booking.com ad that featured Miss Piggy, Kermit, and the gang ranked as the most-watched commercial of this year's big game, determined by the number of YouTube views the official brand received for each ad. Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* trailer, which gave us our first shadowy glimpse at The Void, finished at number 5 on the list. 

Now to be entirely fair, Thunderbolts* did have the distinction of being the most-watched movie trailer of the FOX-aired sports event. In fact, it's actually the only movie trailer that made it into the Top 10 list, with the live-action How to Train Your Dragon, live-action Lilo & Stitch, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and Jurassic World Rebirth trailers all trying but failing to meet its viewcount. In that regard, Marvel did still eek out a win against those beloved and bedevilling Muppets.

Also, we suppose, there's a better chance that the cast of the Thunderbolts* will make a showing at The Oscars this year, a win that, despite the internet's incessant pleas, has yet to materialize for Kermit & Co.

Thunderbolts* (sans Muppets) comes to theaters May 2, 2025.


Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

 

Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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