Marvel Studios has constructed one of the biggest and most popular film series in Hollywood. Over the 21 movies thus far (not including “Avengers: Endgame”) the series has woven several story lines into one large and complex universe.
Release after release, each film topples the box offices as fans swarm to their local theater. But what seems to be changing is Marvel’s advertising techniques for their most recent film, “Avengers: Endgame.”
This newest addition to the franchise has already broken box office records, having made $1.37 billion in ticket pre-sales and is on its way to becoming the fourth highest grossing film of all time. With the film already being deemed an economic success for the company, they are able to do some questionable things in their marketing.
It has been confirmed that in the Endgame trailer certain scenes featured will not be a part of the final film. These scenes were shot in within the approximate six months of filming but had ultimately been cut out of the finished product. With any other movie this would likely turn people away but the build up for this particular film is so immense that viewers are willing to go in blind.
Another interesting marketing element is in the promotional posters. Each character in the MCU has an individual poster, half of the posters are in color while the other half are in black, white, and red. Those in color are meant to represent the characters that are still alive, while the others are meant to show those that had supposedly died in the previous film, “Avengers: Infinity War.” This approach provides fans with a fun Easter egg and can give a little direction for where the film is to go.
Aside from trailers and posters, press tours are a big way to promote a movie. Fans look forward to seeing the Avengers cast interact off screen and talk about the film. Marvel has always been clear on keeping details of the films secret and avoid spoiling anything at all costs. For the case of the latest press tour for Endgame, the cast hasn’t revealed any spoilers or really anything at all. The movie is kept so quite that cast members can barely answer any interview questions in fear of getting into trouble with Marvel executives. They can’t even discuss the plot of the movie, the only thing that can be said is “that it starts, and then it ends.”
The unconventional marketing done for “Avengers: Endgame” is mostly blamed on the studio’s overall efforts to avoid any spoilers from getting out.. The detailed advertising is different to any other film and might even set up a new rubric for future movies.
Elena Melikina // Staff Writer
