In 2024, Marvel Studios found some humility it didn't have before. The entertainment landscape has changed drastically in the 2020s, and even the juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe was not immune to it. The recent D23 Brazil trailer for Captain America: Brave New World highlights how Marvel Studios changed its strategy for promoting the MCU. While it seems like a new approach, it's actually an older one.
After 15 years, Marvel Studios had their first official flops in 2023 with Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania and The Marvels. Preceding this, many of the films released after Avengers: Endgame failed to capture the zeitgeist like the MCU's Infinity Saga did. No longer were the words "Marvel Studios" enough to guarantee a box office success. There are many reasons for this "Marvel fatigue" from economics to a generational change. In 2021, Marvel Studios released four films and five streaming series. Just three years later, that output was reduced to Echo in January, Agatha All Along in the fall and What If…? at Christmas. Marvel Studios' only feature film release was the successful Deadpool & Wolverine. With the Captain America: Brave New World trailers, the number of scenes showing Harrison Ford's Red Hulk indicates a further change in Marvel's strategy.
Marvel Studios Was One of Hollywood's Most Secretive, but Not at First
The Brave New World Trailer Reveals More Than 2008's Iron Man
Documented in the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, its ascension to the height of pop culture was more than just unlikely. By the time Iron Man rolled around in 2008, the conventional wisdom in Hollywood was the "superhero fad" was over. Tony Stark was, at best, a B-List hero on their roster, and Robert Downey, Jr. was not the bankable star he is today. The trailer for that film reveals almost every sequence where he's Iron Man, and the press conference that ended the movie. All the surprises were left for the post-credits scene.
"The general public wasn’t familiar with Iron Man. In fact, Marvel had done consumer testing that revealed awareness of the character was almost zero." MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards
The rest of the MCU Phase 1 films through Avengers took similar approaches, showcasing moments from the beginning to the end in a given film trailer. Even before D23 Brazil, the Captain America: Brave New World trailers revealed a number of details that normally it wouldn't. They showed the Red Hulk confrontation, presumably a third-act fight. Iron Man showed the hero fighting Iron Monger, but it never revealed who was inside the armor. The latest trailer actually showed Thunderbolt Ross turning into the Red Hulk. It also revealed Danny Ramirez in costume as the Falcon.
Along with Red Hulk, all the trailers featured Carl Lumbly's return as Isaiah Bradley, introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the MCU, he was given a dose of super-soldier serum and became the Captain America of the Korean War. Rather than keeping this character's inclusion a secret, Marvel Studios wants to make sure audiences know the streaming series is relevant to this story. The approach to marketing Brave New World to audiences is more reminiscent of the MCU in Phase 1, when it still had something to prove.
Marvel Studios Started to Use Phony Scenes in Trailers to Hide Surprises
After Avengers: Endgame, It Was Tougher to Sell Audiences on MCU Films
After Avengers was a hit, things changed. The trailers got to be very secretive, with films like Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Avengers: Infinity War and Engame all using fake scenes in trailers to hide everything from a character's costume to which actual characters were at a given battle. At the height of the MCU's popularity, not revealing these details only made audiences want to see a movie more. New and returning characters were hidden or, at best, teased. There was no doubt in Marvel executives' minds the films would win their opening weekend regardless.
After The Marvels and Quantumania failed to earn back their very large budgets, the powers-that-be were forced to realize things changed for the studio. Of course, there are mitigating circumstances for both films. The Marvels debuted at the tail-end of the Hollywood strikes, which meant the cast couldn't do press to promote the movie. More interestingly, despite being a flop, Quantumania was still 2023's eighth highest-grossing film at the domestic box office. Nonetheless, it would be both hubris and bad business sense if Marvel Studios didn't reassess and shift their marketing strategy for their blockbuster releases.
Brave New World is the first Captain America movie without Chris Evans as Steve Rogers in the lead. In Winter Soldier, Cap was joined by MCU mainstays Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson. Captain America: Civil War was basically Avengers 2.5. As the first in this series with Anthony Mackie as Captain America, preserving secrets isn't as important as drawing in viewers through anticipation or curiosity. This movie is big, star-studded, and important to the larger MCU by introducing Adamantium. The latter is sourced from the Eternals' dead celestial and Red Hulk in the crimson flesh.
The Brave New World Trailer Sacrifices Spoilers for Building MCU Hype
Marvel Studios Is Gambling on Captain America Versus a Hulk
Long before Marvel Studios existed, moviegoers often complained about how much movie trailers reveal about a given film. In trying to convince audiences to come to the theater, they spoil a lot of the story. For example, Captain Marvel's trailer revealed Carol Danvers' secret origin, so the audience was ahead of her character for half the movie. Nonetheless, this relatively unknown character's solo effort grossed more than $1 billion. There's an argument that movie trailers shouldn't reveal so much, but for Brave New World, it makes sense. Audiences will go into the theater with a clear understanding of what to expect.
Beyond simply revealing crucial details about the fourth Captain America film, the trailer also shows audiences what kind of movie it is. With all the multiversal shenanigans in more recent MCU releases, Brave New World is a relatively grounded story taking place on a single version of Earth. It's a character-focused story with action and political intrigue of the kind Captain America often deals with, regardless of who wields the shield. Marvel hopes revealing these secrets encourages audiences to see Brave New World in theaters instead of simply waiting for it to hit streaming.
