We’re in the end game now! As if I wasn’t going to talk about the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War part two, now known by its official title, Avengers: Endgame. After months and months of speculation and theory-crafting, the trailer finally dropped. I know I’m late—the reason for my tardiness? I struggle to write these breakdowns when talking about Marvel trailers, as they’re just too well crafted. Most of the time, they’re the model action movie trailer in every single way—not really flawed, but presenting nothing really inventive either—and the first trailer for Avengers: Endgame fits that bill perfectly. But this trailer does enough with its reveals and its tone to warrant a breakdown.
The trailer opens with a monologue from Tony Stark, who is now drifting aimlessly in space. The monologue, aimed at Pepper Potts, has Tony coming to the realisation that he might not survive the journey home. We’ve seen Tony in desperate times before, but this is a real gut-punch. After witnessing most of his allies disappear into nothing around him, Tony is unable to get home and completely out of his depth. From here, we shoot back to earth and spend a little time with Captain America and Black Widow. There’s a bit of dialogue and we get our first reveal, finally getting to see Hawkeye (or should I say Ronin, because Clint is obviously also going through some stuff). After that, Cap and Widow prepare for a fight, and after Cap says a few ominous words we transition into the next reveal—the title, Avengers: Endgame. Closing it all off is a nice little comedic stinger with Ant-Man, which (sorry to repeat myself) is also a reveal, being that Scott Lang ended his previous cinematic appearance stuck in the Microverse.
So what did I think? Well, of course, the trailer is brilliant in the way that it answers questions while asking even more. How did Scott get out of the Microverse? Why has Hawkeye transitioned to Ronin? But what really sets this trailer apart from the run-of-the-mill Marvel trailer is its tone: dark and quiet, no real action, just close-ups and dialogue. In a line-up of Marvel trailers, this would stick out like a sore thumb. The Russo brothers want to hide as much of this movie as possible, and I hope they continue to do just that. This film is going to fundamentally change a franchise that we have all grown so accustomed to, and I don’t know if I’m ready for the oncoming heartbreak just yet.
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