Marvel trailer tracking
New trailers tease the MCU’s past and future
Trapped with a dwindling supply of air, Tony Stark looks out into space. This distressing scene opens the new teaser for “Avengers: Endgame,” the next Avengers film.
Last week was rewarding for Marvel fans around the world, with two new trailers for Marvel’s spring 2019 films and a panel at Brazil Comic Con revealing new information about the future films of the MCU.
Three Marvel Studios movies are set to be released in 2019: “Captain Marvel,” the fourth “Avengers” installment, and “Spiderman: Far from Home.” These movies will arrive in theaters in March, April, and July, respectively. Last week saw the second trailer for “Captain Marvel,” the first teaser for the new “Avengers,” and more information about “Far from Home” at Comic Con, providing answers and new questions and leaving behind endless anticipation.
The newest official poster for “Captain Marvel.”
Captain Marvel
Last Monday, the second trailer for “Captain Marvel” revealed more clips from the movie and gave more clues to Captain Marvel’s origin. From this trailer and the last, we know that Captain Marvel is a super-powered warrior who was originally an Air Force pilot from Earth. At some point, she loses her memory, gains her powers, and becomes a soldier for the Kree, an alien race previously seen across the MCU. The Kree are at war with the Skrulls, a race of malicious shape-shifters.
The bulk of the “Captain Marvel” movie appears to be dedicated to Captain Marvel crash-landing on Earth, meeting Nick Fury, rediscovering her past, and turning her back on the Kree. In her words, she won’t fight in their war, but end it. It’s assumed that she’s referring to the Kree-Skrull War, and for some reason she will choose to fight against the war instead of on one side of it.
From “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the TV series “Marvel’s Agents of Shield,” we know the Kree are a race of blue aliens who have a long history of human experimentation. Their work to create soldiers to fight their multitude of wars resulted in the creation of the Inhumans thousands of years ago. The blood of a Kree can be used to revive a human, and the Kree have previously been at war with the Xandarians.
In an alternate version of the future where the Earth has been destroyed, the Kree enslaved the remnants of humanity. Needless to say, they are not a pinnacle of morality. It’s interesting, then, that in this latest “Captain Marvel” trailer, Captain Marvel calls the Kree a race of “noble warrior heroes.” Perhaps she’s been brainwashed into loving the Kree and their cause, but that’s just speculation.
There are still unanswered questions regarding this movie. It’s set in the ‘90s, but we don’t know what happens to Captain Marvel between the events of this movie and “Infinity War,” when Fury calls her back to Earth. Jude Law’s character has appeared in both trailers, but his role in Captain Marvel’s story is unknown. What is known, however, is that this movie will be a great start to Marvel’s 2019 lineup.
Avengers: Endgame
The trailer for the fourth Avengers film was planned to drop last Wednesday, but due to the death of former President Bush and the day of mourning that followed, Marvel decided to push the release back to Friday. When the teaser for the previously untitled sequel to “Infinity War” finally came, it was posted to YouTube on Friday morning. In the next 24 hours, the teaser received 289 million views, setting a new record for movie trailers in their first day.
Up until this trailer, no information was confirmed regarding the movie’s title or plot narrative. Fans have speculated since the release of “Avengers: Infinity War” about this mysterious fourth “Avengers,” but nothing about it was known for sure until last Friday. We now know the sequel to “Infinity War” will be titled “Avengers: Endgame,” but this tile was strategically not given in the name of the video — Marvel revealed the title within the video itself.
The new trailer revealed the title of the fourth “Avengers” as “Endgame” for the first time.
The trailer’s opening moments were appropriately emotional, given the state of the universe in the wake of Thanos’ victory. Following the events of “Infinity War,” Tony is implied to have taken the Guardians of the Galaxy’s ship to make it off of Titan, and the trip has failed utterly.
Stranded in space, facing death, Tony Stark records a hologram message for his wife. His haunting reflection, “part of the journey is the end,” speaks in equal measure to Pepper and to the worldwide audience, who are anticipating “Endgame” to be the end of the Avengers saga of the MCU.
Tony’s situation is reminiscent of important moments in his past: like in the first “Iron Man,” Tony is trapped, with the only hope of escape being his own mind and whatever he can salvage from his surroundings. Recording a message for Pepper was a significant moment in “Iron Man 3,” when Tony found himself separated from Pepper and facing a new threat.
Once again, he’s not alone, instead of being trapped with Yinsen in a cave, he assumedly has Nebula stranded with him in space. Whether or not Tony makes it out alive is unclear, and fans can only wonder if and how he might be rescued.
No doubt the Mad Titan meant what he said in “Infinity War,” and he plans to rest and let the universe be now that his plan was successfully enacted.
— A&E Editor Ian Fertig
The trailer then rolls the Marvel Studios logo fading into dust and shows two glimpses of Thanos’ life on his new planet. Eagle-eyed fans glimpsed it briefly in the final moments of “Infinity War,” but this teaser confirmed Thanos is using his old armor as a scarecrow while he lives a peaceful farming life. A second shot shows Thanos, still wearing the charred infinity gauntlet, walking through his field. No doubt the Mad Titan meant what he said in “Infinity War,” and he plans to rest and let the universe be now that his plan was successfully enacted.
The rest of the trailer reveals the remaining Avengers on Earth mourning the loss of their friends and family. Desperate to reverse the effects of the snap, Captain America and Black Widow discuss some mysterious plan. Bruce Banner reflects on a screen showing the faces of those who vanished, with Spiderman, Scott Lang, and Shuri appearing on the screen. Hawkeye appears, wielding a sword on a rainy street, looking like a man who has lost everything. Thor and Nebula are briefly shown. Then the logo rolls, and the title “Avengers: Endgame” appears.
There isn’t much to go on from the quick clips the trailer revealed. Captain America’s compass with Peggy is shown, and with the compass being a significant callback to his sacrifice in the first “Captain America” movie, there are rumors that the compass is a hint that Cap will be sacrificing himself in “Endgame.”
At the trailer’s end, Scott Lang arrives at the Avengers facility in Luis’ van, having somehow escaped the quantum realm, where he was trapped after the snap at the end of “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” With many theories including the quantum realm as a key component to fixing the universe, it’s not too surprising that the van with a miniaturized quantum tunnel was Ant-Man’s choice for driving to the Avengers facility. Time will tell if his role in the movie will be as significant as some think.
Spider-Man: Far from Home
It’s unsure if the “Far from Home” movie will feature the downfall of Mysterio and his transition from Spider-Man’s partner to his enemy, but some fans believe that will be the case.
— A&E Editor Ian Fertig
There was a rumor that the trailer for “Far from Home,” the sequel to “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” would be released last Saturday, but as of now the official first trailer is not available to the public. New information regarding this movie was released last week, however, at a panel at Brazil Comic-Con. Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Jacob Batalon appeared to answer fans’ questions and show the audience in Brazil the trailer that they were supposedly going to release to the world.
What we know is that “Spider-Man: Far from Home” is about Spider-Man teaming up with Mysterio, a brand-new mythical hero played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Nick Fury partners these two up to stop a new threat facing the world, and their journey takes them across the globe as they fight to keep Earth safe.
Mysterio, who has never before appeared in a live-action Spider-Man movie, is typically pictured as a figure in a green suit and purple cape, with a glass orb around his head. In the comics, he’s also a villain. It’s unsure if the “Far from Home” movie will feature the downfall of Mysterio and his transition from Spider-Man’s partner to his enemy, but some fans believe that will be the case.
The true unaddressed elephant in the room is that in the MCU, Spider-Man is currently dead. If this sequel is to take place after “Avengers: Endgame,” then Spider-Man has to be revived somehow. The same goes for Black Panther, who has a sequel film scheduled for after 2019. Although from the teaser it appears “Endgame” will be a sad movie, we can be confident it has to end well for some characters.
Last week was a great reminder that big things are coming to the best multi-billion-dollar cinematic superhero universe around. These movies will undoubtedly be receiving more attention in the months to come. Until then, the anticipation only grows.
