The issue of the release of footage has long been a sticking point surrounding events like the San Diego Comic-Con. Every year, the biggest movie studios stage huge presentations of their most highly anticipated upcoming movies – including preview footage – and every year, social media lights up with posts from those lucky enough to be present. Some studios – like Warner Bros. – have embraced the situation, and officially release trailers online immediately after they screen at Comic-Con, but it’s Marvel Studios that always sparks debate. This was never more evident than when Avengers: Infinity War footage screened at Comic-Con 2017.
The footage had already been unveiled in recent weeks at the Disney Expo D23 – another convention that assembles fans and media for previews of Disney projects. So, when the Marvel train pulled into Hall H at the San Diego Comic-Con in a prime, Saturday evening slot, fans that had not been able to attend either event had high hopes of seeing the official footage online shortly thereafter (much like the new Thor: Ragnarok trailer). It was not to be, though, and they instead had to settle for grainy ‘leaked’ footage from attendees.
After the event, co-director Joe Russo addressed the issue and explained to ComicBook.com the difference between footage the studio cuts for a fan convention and footage that’s released to general audiences.
“You know, all I can say is that when the footage comes out we want it to be exactly right. So we are taking our time and working on that footage because, as you can imagine, the levels of visual effects in these movies are unprecedented and there are certain things in this footage at Comic-Con that works specifically for a Comic-Con audience. But when we go wide, to a wide audience, we have to make sure that footage works for a wide audience.
“So we’re hard at work on that right now. I’m not going to give a timeline on it because I want to surprise people but, you know, hopefully, they’re patient with us.”
So, while descriptions of what was shown at Comic-Con may have been spread far and wide, when the official trailer finally arrives, it will presumably take a slightly different form since Marvel apparently geared the Comic-Con footage specifically toward those that are the biggest fans.
The problem with that approach is that it’s quite a divisive one – something which also applies to the Black Panther teaser that screened at the Con. Marvel enjoys such a large, international market share that there are diehard fans all over the world – and they do not all get to attend D23 or Comic-Con. There is a flip-side to that argument though, and it’s that it takes a great deal of effort and commitment to attend these events – so out of respect for that fact alone, shouldn’t those fans in attendance get to see something that’s exclusive?
Besides, Marvel did release a new trailer for Thor: Ragnarok, which is the next movie due for release for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Crucially, that film apparently dovetails into the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, so it certainly does make sense not to release footage to the wider public before November 2017. We can also expect the marketing campaign for the Avengers sequel to accommodate that of Black Panther, which arrives in February 2018. That leaves two whole months of solid Avengers marketing time ahead of its May 4th, 2018 release date. Indeed, patience is key.
