Marvel posted a 17 second video yesterday, teasing the “World Trailer Premier” for Captain America: Civil War. Fans took to social media immediately to speculate whether or not they would finally get a glimpse of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, with the vast majority of them hoping that he would be kept under wraps until the movie actually came out.
The trailer dropped today, and the closing shot indeed revealed the teenage webslinger in all his glory, snatching Cap’s shield right out of his hands:
It’s understandable that fans were hesitant about seeing the character this early. Trailers can be dangerous; they run the risk of revealing too much and taking the suspense out of big moments. The Dawn of Justice trailer certainly caught its share of flack for showing both Wonder Woman and Doomsday, both of whom would have made for awesome reveals in a theater. The Force Awakens, on the other hand, was praised for its trailer, which got people excited for the flick without giving away any plot details. It’s a fine line between too little and too much, and Spider-Man fell right on that line for Civil War.
But Marvel had to show the infamous web-head in this trailer, despite their fans’ protests. It was the necessary business decision.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you’re the kind of person who keeps his or her finger on the pulse of the entertainment industry. You read all about the latest rumors, and are the first to know when your favorite character has been cast. The second that Sony and Marvel struck a deal to bring Spider-Man into the MCU, you knew about it. You’re so deeply ingrained in the world of pop culture, that you may not even realize that most people had no clue that Peter Parker is going to be in Civil War.
These are the same people that needed a trailer during Monday Night Football to tell them that there was a new Star Wars movie coming out. They’re the vast majority of moviegoers, and they need a little extra help in deciding whether or not to go see a film in theaters. They may have seen the first Civil War trailer and thought, “Meh.” But now that might change. Now they may be thinking, “Oh, Spider-Man is in this movie? That might be worth checking out after all.”
Keep in mind that these people probably still don’t know that Spider-Man is in the flick. They weren’t refreshing their Twitter feeds all morning waiting for it to drop like you and I were. So if you know one of these people, send them the link immediately. Otherwise, they’ll have to wait until it airs during next week’s episode of The Bachelor (presumably).
Disney made the proper business decision, and it will prove fruitful at the box office come May. And, luckily for fans, they handled the situation perfectly. They gave just a small taste of Spider-Man, and they spoiled nothing. Fans arguably could not have asked for a better reveal.
Now we only need to hope that they don’t show much more footage in TV spots.
Watch the full trailer below:
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Captain America: Civil War opens May 6, 2016.
