To hear Jon Favreau tell it, the first Iron Man trailer premiering at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2007 made that movie’s reputation. Time and time again, Favreau has recalled how trepidation over this feature immediately transformed into fervent excitement once people actually got a look at the exhilarating trailer Marvel Studios marketers had put together for the first Iron Man. Since then, the various Marvel Cinematic Universe features have been preceded by trailers that instantly put characters like Black Panther and the Guardians of the Galaxy on people’s radar.
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However, no studio has a perfect marketing track record. Over the years, Marvel Studios has had its logo attached to some truly bizarre and underwhelming trailers. The reasons behind why these key marketing materials came up short vary wildly, though they all leave an unsatisfied feeling in the viewers’ stomachs once they’re finished playing. Years after their respective releases, the seven worst Marvel Cinematic Universe trailers still stand out as disappointing.
The Incredible Hulk – Trailer One
While Iron Man took off like a rocket with an immediately confident first trailer, The Incredible Hulk’s marketing campaign started just three months before its release with a more lackluster trailer. Drenched in darkness and closing out with two CG monsters duking it out with each other, The Incredible Hulk’s inaugural trailer lacked much personality in either its editing or music choices. This trailer clearly suggested Incredible Hulk would be a more action-oriented project than Ang Lee’s Hulk, but this generic trailer also suggested The Incredible Hulk would lack that earlier film’s distinctive personality and creative conviction.
The Avengers – Teaser Trailer
Nine Inch Nails rocks. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the band’s current frontmen, have made so many outstanding film scores. Combining a famous Nine Inch Nails tune with the first Avengers teaser should’ve been a slam dunk. Unfortunately, the band’s “We’re in This Together” is haphazardly shoehorned into this trailer. It suddenly just jumps onto the soundtrack and doesn’t have time to leave an impact. This teaser is also hindered by several key action sequences clearly not being ready yet, as well as a lack of footage of the titular team actually interacting.
Ant-Man – Teaser Trailer
An oddly somber piece of marketing for what would turn out to be a frothy family-friendly outing, Ant-Man’s first trailer is puzzling. Released a few weeks after the feature finished shooting, this teaser consists largely of people walking around generic locales in slow motion. There’s no real sense of fun or excitement here, just Marvel Studios marketers sweatily trying to get audiences not to inherently laugh at the concept of Ant-Man.
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Avengers: Age of Ultron – Trailer Three
The Avengers: Age of Ultron teaser trailer with that ominous take on “I’ve Got No Strings” was a thing of atmospheric beauty. Inevitably, the second Ultron trailer just couldn’t compete. However, even when not compared to that teaser, this second trailer was a misfire that eschewed a distinctly tense atmosphere for too much generic noise and chaos. Awkward bursts of comedic dialogue like “Well, you amazingly failed” and “I’m always picking up after you boys” also don’t work. Spoiling a first glimpse at The Vision at the very end didn’t help matters.
Black Widow – Final Trailer
This particular Black Widow trailer had to overcome obstacles no other lackluster MCU trailer faced. Specifically, this trailer had to restart the movie’s marketing campaign after COVID-19 capsized its original May 2020 release plans. Even with that caveat in mind, though, this trailer mostly just rehashes footage from previous trailers with little flair. The deeply derivative orchestral music underscoring all the images is also incredibly flat. Even under unprecedented circumstances, surely more creativity could’ve been afforded to this Black Widow trailer.
Thor: Love and Thunder – Teaser Trailer
Running only 90 seconds, this Thor: Love and Thunder teaser re-introduced audiences to the Godly Avenger with lots of rock n’ roll and colorful imagery. There were some nice touches in the trailer (namely the opening shots depicting Thor growing up every time he runs behind a tree), but too much of it has a been there, done that feeling. “Sweet Child O’ Mine” as the trailer’s central needle drop is especially too familiar for a trailer trying to convince people why we need a fourth solo Thor movie. Also, that ultra-weird, cutesy tagline “Not every God has a plan” was an ominous harbinger of Love and Thunder’s miscalculated wacky streak.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Trailer Two
What’s old is new again. Nearly eight years after the first Ant-Man teaser, the second Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer once again trapped this Marvel hero in an overly somber piece of marketing. One has to wonder what’s going on in this franchise when reliable comedic actor Paul Rudd is being forced to say such serious lines as “We just both have to lose.” Quantumania’s second trailer also succumbed to very paint-by-numbers editing and music choices. It was a piece of marketing assembled seemingly overnight, with no real personality or fun to speak of, especially compared to the electrifying Guardians of the Galaxy teaser that put those cosmic misfits on everybody’s radar.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now streaming on Disney+.
