If there’s one thing Marvel fans can’t complain about, it’s lack of content. At 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, the official Avengers Twitter account called its followers to action: “It’s go time, Marvelites: Tweet using #AvengersAssemble to unite & unlock an epic new #Avengers #AgeOfUltron Trailer!” Fans answered in full force and the latest peak at the superhero sequel was unsurprisingly published to the studio’s YouTube account earlier this afternoon.
With the May 1 release of Avengers: Age of Ultron less than two months away, the unveiling of the studio’s third full-length trailer for the film could be a little distressing. By this point in the marketing cycle for most films, the promotional videos and images are growing stale — or worse, are revealing so much actually going to the movie is beginning to feel redundant. But that’s where Marvel’s team excels. The epic two-minute trailer only raises the already intense anticipation for this picture to the boiling point.
Once again opening with Ultron (James Spader), viewers are presented with a broader description of his unflinchingly chilling objective: “I was designed to save the world. People would look to sky and see… hope. I’ll take that from them first.” The opportunity to hear more of Spader as the voice of the picture’s robotic villain reaffirms that his casting was perfect.
This promise of utter destruction is followed by Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) confession that he failed. “I tried to create a suit of armour around the world, but I created something terrible.” The consequences of Tony’s mistake are seen in brief flashes of Ultron’s army overrunning the city while he attempts to rationalize his efforts.
In addition to more shots of Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) at Ultron’s side, we see them attacking Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Captain America (Chris Evans) with their particular gifts. Other glimpses of superhero violence include the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the Hulkbuster trading punches as they scale the side of a building and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) lifting Tony by the throat. There’s also an impressive shot of the Avengers literally assembling in combat just before the release date is shown.
On a lighter note, there is a hint of romance between Black Widow and Bruce Banner in an intimate moment that appears to be leading to a kiss. And there is still some humour stitched throughout the preview, including a couple of quips from the group’s token female and Thor’s question that has a predictably disastrous response: “That’s all you’ve got?!”
Possibly the most significant part of the trailer is reserved for the final seconds, during which fans are finally given a glimpse of one of the franchise’s newest characters: Vision (Paul Bettany). Not a lot is known about how writer/director Joss Whedon will incorporate Vision into the story, but with the prevalent theme of artificial intelligence and the fact that Bettany also provides the voice of Tony’s virtual butler J.A.R.V.I.S. there’s some indication he could have similar origins to Ultron and perhaps represent his antithesis.
Just when it didn’t seem possible, this movie looks better than ever.
