Marvel’s 'Thunderbolts' takes over KL skyline with Merdeka 118 projection

Marvel Studios has lit up Kuala Lumpur’s newest landmark, the Merdeka 118, as part of a regional promotional push for its upcoming antihero ensemble film Thunderbolts*. The movie is set for a Malaysian release tomorrow, on 1 May.

Photos shared on Marvel Malaysia’s official social media pages show the tower illuminated with visuals and taglines teasing the film, positioning the activation as both a cinematic homage and a marketing spectacle. The campaign invites Malaysians to “look up to the skies” nightly to catch the special projection lighting up the city skyline.

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The light-up covers two thirds of the Merdeka 118 tower, which is yet to be opened to the public. Based on the photos posted by Marvel, the projection rotates between the film's taglines, "Not super. Not heroes. Not giving up" and "Thunderbolts*, in cinemas 1 May". In another scene, the building's iconic geometrical silhouette is also outlined in bright yellow lights, the same colour as the upcoming film's bright yellow title font.

According to Marvel Malaysia's social media, the light projection would be activated for three nights, from yesterday (29 April) until the movie's release on 1 May.

Disney Malaysia told A+M, that the inspiration for the light projection came directly from the film itself, referring to Florence Pugh’s stunt jump off Merdeka 118 in an iconic scene in Thunderbolts*.
 
"We wanted to highlight this cinematic moment while paying homage to one of Malaysia’s iconic landmarks. Illuminating Merdeka 118 felt like a fitting way to celebrate Malaysia’s landmark making its Hollywood debut," Disney Malaysia said.  

The company also noted that it took three months of planning for the activation to come to life, made possible through its appointed agency who collaborated with PNB's Merdeka Ventures and lighting experts to execute the plan.  
 
"The projection serves as a high-impact stunt to generate excitement and celebrate the film’s opening in Malaysia, right at the site of an iconic Thunderbolts* scene," it added.  

Disney also shared that additional activations will be rolled out across Kuala Lumpur for the release of Thunderbolts*, including the takeover of the Pasar Seni MRT station from 21 April to 20 May, and another at Aurum Theatre, TRX from 17 April to 12 May. 

The light projection activation follows reports that scenes from Thunderbolts* were filmed on-site at Merdeka 118, which is the second tallest building in the world at 2,227 feet, behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Based on a Fandango interview, British actress Florence Pugh, who stars as Yelena Belova in the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) installment, begged Marvel Studio's president Kevin Feige to allow her to perform a stunt of her jumping off the skyscraper.

The stunt was written into the script, but Marvel was hesitant amid shooting as it may lead to an insurance ordeal. The team eventually gave in to Pugh's request and made the BASE jump happen. Clips of the stunt had gone viral in Malaysia earlier this year, stoking excitement for the film, as it was featured in a Thunderbolts* behind-the-scenes featurette on Marvel Studios' YouTube channel.

In the featurette, Pugh can be seen practicing the stunt atop the Merdeka 118 with a harness. The scene then cuts to the actress free-falling off the building against the Kuala Lumpur backdrop, before deploying a parachute and nailing a swift landing.

Thunderbolts* brings together a roster of other familiar Marvel faces including David Harbour as Red Guardian, and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes. The MCU film follows a team of antiheroes forced into a high-risk mission that dredges up past traumas.

The Merdeka 118 observatory decks will be open to the public next year. Currently, it houses Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), the owner of the skyscraper, which relocated its headquarters there at the end of 2023. According to The Edge, Maybank is also set to move its headquarters to Menara Merdeka 118 in 2026 after entering a 21-year tenancy agreement with PNB.

Light shows are nothing new for Marvel and its parent company Disney. Last year, the studio hosted a drone show at the San Diego Comic Con to tease its Fantastic Four film. It shared the drone show on its social media, which left the message "Saturday Hall H", after displaying Marvel character Galactus rising up in the night sky, and the Fantastic Four logo.

Earlier in 2023, Marvel also took over Jewel Changi in Singapore with seven Marvel-themed photo spots with some of its most popular Avengers characters. At night, a Marvel Avengers-themed light and sound show also took place at the HSBC Rain Vortex, featuring the superheroes who were flashed against the water feature.

Photo courtesy of Marvel Malaysia.

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