Nine years ago, Marvel, former bankrupt publishing company turned cinematic benchmark, began an undertaking never before attempted in the medium. Starting with everyone’s favorite ironclad b-lister, the fledgling movie studio crafted a cosmic saga that would span over several films, TV shows and comics, with an endgame that would see an epic ensemble of superheroes go blow for blow with Thanos, the Mad Titan himself. And 16 movies in, fortified by a creative team as passionate about the source material as they are about the filmmaking process, it seems like they just might pull it off. We’ll know for sure by May 2018, but for now we’ll dissect the official Avengers: Infinity War trailer that dropped at the D23 expo on Saturday.
The trailer has yet to be made available to the public, though a number of sites have published detailed shot for shot breakdowns of the exclusive clip, which can get pretty lengthy. As you might expect, there’s a hell of a lot to unpack here.
Marvel has affirmed themselves as one of the big victors of the D23 expo, as the trailer for Infinity War was said to not only leave many utterly astounded, but even bring Spider-Man actor Tom Holland to tears. From minor moments of fan service like the scene confirming the existence of Peter’s spidey sense in the MCU, to long-anticipated moments like Iron Man fighting beside the Guardians of the Galaxy, this film promises to deliver on a pipe dream a decade in the making.
Captain America reportedly dons a darker version of his iconic threads as well as an unkempt beard, indicating the events of last year’s Civil War had actual ramifications, despite the sort of weightless anti-climactic ending (yeah-yeah, it’s still a great film). Moreover, Tony Stark, in what has become a favored staple of any MCU film that features the character, will sport a new suit, similar in shape and color to the Model 51, more commonly known as the Model-Prime armor. To my chagrin, though I am most certainly in the minority, Tom Holland has been confirmed to rock the garb teased at the end of Spider-Man Homecoming . For those who have yet to see the film, imagine a sleek love child between the “Iron Spider Suit” and the suit from Spider-man 2099. It’s a brilliant design, though I’m unsure about how I feel about a Spider-Man that’s this tech dependent this early in his career.
Given that Thor has a cosmic link dating all the way back to his first solo venture in 2011, it makes sense that he’s the first member of the Avengers to come into contact with the Guardians of the Galaxy, which happens by way of him crash landing straight into the Mellano. Where there’s a Thor, there is undoubtedly a Loki close behind and such is the case with the Infinity War trailer, where he is shown handing a tesseract to an unidentified shadowy figure.
The trailer also shows Thanos picking up a planet to throw at the Avengers, one of the highlights mentioned by several attendees. What’s more, Spider-man offers a tearful “I’m sorry” to Stark, we get a glimpse of a Wakanda battalion, Bucky is back, along with the Hulkbuster armor, and Black Widow has blond hair. Peter Quill says, “Oh no,” Gamora is crying, Doctor Strange is casting spells in space! Thanos gets some more dialogue, then begins crushing Thor’s head.
Holy shit, this movie is less than a year away?!
