by Ben Miller
Oscar season is upon us and it’s easy to forget that studios also want to make billions upon billions of dollars next summer. Marvel Studios have been teasing their fans for months with the news of the debut trailer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe teamup to end all teamups, Avengers: Infinity War. Well, the hype has finally culminated to a climax as the trailer was debuted this morning. Take a look after the jump and hit our obligatory Yes, No, Maybe So...
YES
- Normal-faced Paul Bettany! Who knew he was still around? There is obviously no way it can last, but it is a nice change of pace to see a familiar face to go with that ubiquitous voice
- This is the fifth MCU appearance for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and her fifth different hairstyle. I appreciate the willingness to change things up, especially the blonde that she is currently rocking
- Middle ground Loki is the best Loki. I have no doubt he will be trying to partner with Thanos before this film is done
- “Get this man a shield.”
- Nothing says character growth than a growth of beard to go with it. Heroic bearded Chris Evans has worked before (hello Snowpiercer)
- It looks like a bunch of fighting is happening in Wakanda. This gives me high hopes since Black Panther drops in February before we get this team up. T’Challa seems to be fighting a Xenomorph
- Vision does not seem to be having the best of time
- Thanos does have a clear purpose in this film. He has the infinity gauntlet and by the time he starts punching Iron Man, he already has two of the five
- There is an epic scope to those Wakandan battles in the plains. It also brings together Falcon and Winter Soldier, everyone’s new favorite bickering MCU couple
- That final hero shot of the jungle charge brings together quite an eclectic grouping. Captain America, Winter Soldier, Falcon, Black Panther, War Machine, Hulk, Black Widow and Danai Gurira. I love weirdly mismatched groups (I know Gurira’s character is named Okoye, but I like to imagine it’s just her charging in)
- And the final shot of the Guardians of the Galaxy as they meet Thor might make the whole thing worthwhile. Also, Groot looks like a large teenager (I need more subtle waving from Mantis)
NO
- There are A LOT of characters this film has to get together. Could be a jumbled mess
- The trailer is a little intelligence insulting since it takes 45 seconds before anything new happens. Do we need to reestablish all these characters? The MCU has been going on for almost a decade
- How many times can New York CITY be targeted? There are plenty of other cities that need destroying, but those poor New Yorkers can’t escape intergalactic devastation.
- We finally get a clear shot of Josh Brolin’s Thanos! And he looks…shitty? Like a mix between Butterbean and Grimace? This could go very wrong, very fast
MAYBE SO
- Thanks to that Vanity Fair spread, we know who all is going to be around. No sign of Ant-Man, Wasp, Hawkeye or the token Bechdel ladies
- All the teases and easter eggs pointing to infinity stones in previous MCU films all lead to this. Seems prime for a letdown
- Are they really going to keep Thor’s eye patch the whole time? I am prepared for some timeline/magic shenanigans to get his eye back
- There is so much to unravel, it feels exhausting
We have yet to see a Batman vs. Superman letdown by the MCU. Who can imagine the Russo Brothers doing it now? They have shown a penchant for practical effects over CGI, but this one looks like it could get out of control in that department. But I'm personally still optimistic. You?
is your Spidey sense tingling?
Avengers Infinity War hits May 4th, 2018. Only 156 days from now