The asterisk hullabaloo had everything to do with setting up The New Avengers ahead of Avengers: Doomsday’s release next summer. While I wasn’t exactly surprised about the reveal when the movie reached its end (especially considering we already know the Thunderbolts* cast are part of the Avengers;

Here are all the actors and characters from Marvel's "Thunderbolts*" who are going to return in "Avengers: Doomsday."

Since then, Marvel has been far more selective with the villains it kills off. Spider-Man: No Way Home, WandaVision, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Captain America: Brave New World ... more villains have survived the events of these MCU movies and Disney+ shows, as well as other Phase 4 and 5 projects, than those in Phases 1, 2, and 3.