The very moment Disney and Lucasfilm announced when the first teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens would debut online, a rampant speculation spread across the Internet like wildfire. It was fever-pitch; the kind of palpable excitement that the franchise hasn’t evoked since before The Phantom Menace arrived back in ’99.
And so, news that the footage has accumulated a staggering 58.2 million views in just four days should come as no surprise. But the bigger question is, after blazing past Avengers: Age of Ultron on the view counter, is The Force Awakens teaser on its way to becoming the most viewed trailer of all time? For the sake of perspective, when the full Age of Ultron trailer made its bow back in October, it amassed just over 50 million views over the course of a week and set a record for the year of 2014.
Of course, it’s worth noting that the first look at Joss Whedon’s superhero sequel leaked ahead of time, leading many to point out that the impact was softened somewhat considering it didn’t arrive through Marvel’s official channel. Still, given that it still managed to reach those dizzying heights we mentioned earlier, it’s hardly as though the trailer flopped.
Besides, Star Wars is, arguably, the biggest and most recognizable IP in entertainment — a prestigious legacy that has spawned just about every medium you can think of since its arrival in the late 70s. And such a success comes with a pretty monumental fan base.
Interestingly, Zefr doesn’t include what the most viewed trailer in history is, but if Star Wars: The Force Awakens maintains even a fraction of the pace its shown hitherto, Abrams’ reboot will be a difficult contender to beat.
