7 Times Marvel Movies Spoiled Too Much Before They Even Came Out

On several occasions, key details about movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been spoiled by trailers, toy leaks, and even actors comments before the movies actually release. Over the last 17 years, Marvel Studios has released 37 feature films, 17 TV shows, and two Special Presentations as part of the MCU, each including twists and turns that have advanced the franchise in some incredible ways. However, not all these twists unfortunately stay secret in the lead-up to MCU movie premieres, and some huge revelations have been spoiled too early.

While many prominent MCU actors have been known to spoil huge events in upcoming movies—especially during the lead up to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame—secrets have been spoiled in many ways. Toys and merchandising released before they should have been have ruined revelations in many projects, while Marvel Studios’ own trailers have revealed shocking debuts and evolutions that would have been better staying hidden until the movies’ releases. This has happened countless times, but these seven examples are some of the most shocking and insane early reveals.

7) Red Hulk’s Prominence in Captain America: Brave New World’s Trailers Ruined the Twist

The trailers for Anthony Mackie’s first feature film as Captain America, Captain America: Brave New World, strangely put a huge amount of focus on Sam Wilson fighting the Red Hulk, the transformed Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford). When it came time for the movie’s release, however, the fact we’d already seen the Red Hulk meant that teases toward Ross’ transformation throughout the movie were lackluster, and the entire final battle between Captain America and the Red Hulk had already been ruined. It would have been better if the Red Hulk was omitted from Brave New World’s trailers.

6) Marvel Legends Series Revealed Ego Was Peter Quill’s Father

Ever since he debuted in the MCU in Guardians of the Galaxy, we wondered who the biological father of Peter Quill’s Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) was. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 revealed it was the Celestial Ego (Kurt Russell) in 2017, but we had already been told this by the release of Marvel Legends toys of Peter Quill and Ego. The blurb literally states that “Ego and Star-Lord share many of the same qualities as father and son,” and since the toys were released a full month before Vol. 2 hit theaters in April 2017, this reveal was completely spoiled.

5) Vision Appeared as a Toy Before Making His Avengers: Age of Ultron Debut

Granted, we had already seen Vision’s eyes in one of Avengers: Age of Ultron’s trailers, but we could have assumed this was just an advanced body for the titular robotic villain (James Spader). The release of a simply toy labelled “Marvel’s Vision” in the months before Age of Ultron’s release, however, spoiled the reveal that this body was indeed Vision (Paul Bettany). The debut of this remarkable character from Marvel Comics was huge in the MCU’s Phase 2, bringing one of the most powerful heroes into live-action and establishing another Infinity Stone, but it had already been ruined.

4) Professor X Returned in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Trailer

While Captain America: Brave New World’s trailer might have ruined Red Hulk’s transformation, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ trailer did something even worse three years prior. Five years after he declared his retirement from the role of Professor X after Logan, Patrick Stewart’s return to the role was confirmed in a simple trailer, when a reveal this massive should have been kept hidden until the movie’s release. Not only did we get a glimpse of Stewart, but also saw Professor X’s yellow chair. This would have been even more impactful if we had no idea he was returning.

3) You Could Buy Iron Man’s Infinity Gauntlet Before Avengers: Endgame’s Release

Similarly to the reveal of Vision and Peter Quill’s lineage in toy releases, but perhaps even more shocking, was the release of a very different Infinity Gauntlet before Avengers: Endgame hit theaters. Endgame saw the Avengers time travel to collect the Infinity Stones and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) built a gauntlet to hold them. This Stark Gauntlet was released in toy form in the weeks before Endgame’s release, effectively spoiling the fact that the Avengers will collect the Infinity Stones, and thereby allowing some to figure out the entire narrative of Endgame from start to finish.

2) Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Trailer Mistake Spoiled the Returns of Classic Spider-Men

Professor X’s return being spoiled in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ trailer was shocking, but eagle-eyed viewers spotted a moment from Spider-Man: No Way Home’s third act battle in a version of the 2021 movie’s trailer that seemed unusual. During the trailer—which was still trying to keep Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s returns secret—the Lizard is seemingly punched by nothing, changing direction mid-air. This led many to believe that the two classic Spider-Men had been edited out of the trailer, which was indeed the case, spoiling two of the biggest Marvel actor returns yet.

1) Marvel Let Mark Ruffalo Speak in Interviews Before Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame

While trailers have spoiled many major revelations, and toy and merchandising sales have done the same, it’s often Marvel Studios’ own actors who have spoiled the most. Dave Bautista, Gwyneth Paltrow, Evangeline Lilly, Chris Evans, Tom Holland, and more have all done this, but Mark Ruffalo is perhaps the biggest offender. Not only did Ruffalo accidentally leave a livestream running through the first 10 minutes of Thor: Ragnarok’s premiere, broadcasting major audio to mass audiences, but he also revealed that “everyone dies” at the end of Avengers: Infinity War during a panel before the epic crossover movie’s release.

Many plot points in Avengers: Endgame were also spoiled by the Hulk actor before the movie’s release in April 2019. Ruffalo teased the Hulk’s evolution into a “more talkative” version, hinting at his Smart Hulk transformation, and he also revealed to the world that Steve Rogers “gets married” in Endgame, spoiling the ending for Chris Evans’ MCU hero as he thought it to have been from a fake script only he had received. Mark Ruffalo has earned his place as a spoiler machine, but we’re yet to see what secrets he’ll reveal about his upcoming appearances in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and perhaps the Russo brothers’ upcoming Avengers movies.

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