It marks the first time the 678.9m-tall skyscraper, owned by Permodalan Nasional Berhad through its subsidiary PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd, has been selected as a location for a Hollywood film.

Many Malaysians were so proud that they left comments like “Malaysia shining bright”, “Malaysia goes global”, and the signature cry “Malaysia Boleh!” on social media platforms.

Marvel Studios set the ball rolling last month when it shared behind-the-scenes footage of “Thunderbolts” star Florence Pugh jumping from the top of Merdeka 118, which unsurprisingly captured the attention of Malaysian fans.

And the feel-good feeling has just grown stronger since the premiere, judging by the comments left by local cinephiles on social media, including one by ApiZ on TikTok, who posted: “Feel proud that Malaysia’s name is part of an international movie.”

Perhaps what most viewers feel can be best summed up by Saiful Nizam’s simple comment: “I’m proud to be Malaysian.”

Local film reviewer Shahril Izzat Rosli, who goes by the moniker Shahril Pencinta Muvee, echoed such sentiments when he spoke with Bernama, expressing pride in seeing the country’s landmark featured in an international movie.

This, he said, showcased Malaysia on the world stage.

“I was very excited and proud when I saw our national landmark make its appearance in a Hollywood movie, what more a Marvel film that has its own following across the world,” he said.

“It wasn’t just once, but Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur were mentioned repeatedly throughout the film – so that’s certainly something to be proud of.”

He noted that Marvel fans who had not previously heard of our country would now be at least semi-familiar with it, given that an anti-hero character is created in a lab here, according to the film.