10 Biggest Tricks Marvel Movie Trailers Used To Lie To You

The MCU is one of the most successful movie franchises of all time, and this popularity is, in part, due to the expert-level way Marvel marketing is able to generate hype. With all the decorative posters, brand deals, and memorable cast interviews, when a Marvel movie is released, it never feels like just another movie but instead a massive cultural event. However, out of all the promotional content that the MCU releases, nothing tops its unforgettable trailers. Complete with the classic Marvel Studios logo and the iconic score, MCU trailers are always jampacked with vibrant fight scenes, exciting Easter eggs, and standout quotes, leaving viewers giddy with anticipation.

Marvel goes to great lengths to maximize trailers’ hype for the best MCU movies, even if it means deceiving its audiences. It’s standard practice for movie trailers to cut up and splice unrelated clips and sound bytes together so that the trailer itself has its own cohesive narrative without revealing too much of the story. So many Marvel trailers include characters’ words and actions that were taken completely out of context, heavily implying that shocking events will take place in the film. Other edits hide massive plot points to not reveal the movies’ central conflict. And they all succeed in tricking the audience about what they should expect from the films.

10 Bucky “Shoots Rhodey”

Civil War (2016)

Captain America: Civil War demonstrated that though Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were both committed to saving the world, they disagreed about how it should be done, andthis conflict exploded into an all-out war. At the center of the conflict is Bucky Barnes, whom Steve tries to protect, while Tony doesn’t trust him. In the trailer, two shots are spliced together of Bucky shooting someone and Rhodey falling out of the sky, suggesting Bucky is at fault and further antagonizing Tony. In the actual movie, Vision accidentally blasts Rhodey out of the sky after miscalculating a blast meant for Falcon.

Related: How To Watch the Marvel Movies In Order (By Release Date & In Order Of MCU Timeline Events)

9 Tom Holland’s Peter “Saves MJ”

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

The return of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home was the movie’s worst-kept secret, but Marvel still tried to hide it. Thetrailer shows villains from previous Spider-Man universes appearing but does not mention Garfield (or Tobey Maguire). At the climax of the trailer, MJ falls, and Tom Holland’s Peter jumps to save her, and it cuts to a hand reaching out to hers, implying Holland’s Peter saves her. In the movie, Holland’s Peter is hit by a Green Goblin glider, so it’s Garfield’s Peter who jumps down to save MJ, giving him some emotional fulfillment after he isn’t able to save his Gwen.

Related: All 12 Spider-Man Movies Ranked

8 “Bucky” Is Not Shown In The Winter Soldier’s Trailer

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Following the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, it’s assumed that Bucky Barnes is dead, and Steve Rogers still mourns. Unbeknownst to Steve, and viewers who hadn’t read the comics, Bucky was saved and turned into a mindless killer for HYDRA called the Winter Soldier, as shown in Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s trailer. While there are many shots of the Winter Soldier in the trailer, they all intentionally hide Bucky’s face one way or another so viewers couldn’t quite tell that it’s him. This subtle deception makes the reveal that Bucky is the soldier who’s been attacking Steve in the actual movie hit so much harder.

7 The Main Threat In Guardians 2 Trailer Is A Space Monster

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

When watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s trailer, no one would ever suspect that the main villain of the film is Ego, Star-Lord’s father. While he does make a brief appearance at the end of the trailer, the bulk of it is filled with clips of the Guardians battling a huge monster, suggesting that the monster is the movie’s major threat. In actuality, the Guardians defeat the monster very quickly at the beginning of the movie and spend the bulk of the film getting to know Ego. Though he initially seems benevolent, Ego gradually reveals himself to be the true villain.

6 Steve Assures “Natasha” In Endgame’s Trailer

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Natasha frequently appears and speaks in the Avengers: Endgame trailer, leaving no indication that she may die. Two lines from Natasha and Steve spliced together create a conversation that never happens in the movie. Natasha says, “If there’s a small chance, we owe this to everyone who’s not in this room to try,” to which Steve seemingly responds, “We will. Whatever it takes.” On first glance, it sounds like Steve and Natasha are talking about saving the world, but the clip of Steve actually comes after Natasha’s death in the movie and is him assuring Clint Barton that they will make Natasha’s sacrifice count.

5 Thor Must “Stop Hela And Ragnarok”

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

What is perhaps Thor’s most clever triumph is his defeat of his sister Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. For most of the movie, Thor believes that he must prevent Ragnarok, the cataclysmic destruction of his home Asgard from happening, but is struggling to figure out how. All the while, Hela has taken over Asgard and plans on conquering multiple realms under its empire. Thor soon realizes that the only way to stop Hela is to cause Ragnarok, but the trailer would have viewers believing the opposite. In the trailer, Thor says, “I need to stop her here and now to prevent Ragnarok, the end of everything.”

4 Scott Makes A Deal With Kang The Conqueror

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

In the final trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Kang the Conqueror’s voice can be heard, and it appears that he is trying to negotiate with Scott. After being imprisoned and then trapped in the Quantum Realm for years, Scott has missed out on large portions of his daughter Cassie’s life. In Quantumania she’s 18, and Scott feels even more distant from her than ever. The framing of Quantumania’s trailer heavily implies that Scott makes a deal with Kang to get to spend more time with Cassie, which ultimately backfires and endangers his family. Scott never makes this deal in the movie and fights Kang at every turn.

3 Doctor Strange Brings Multiversal Chaos In Multiverse Of Madness’s Trailer

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Though Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’s trailer suggests that Scarlet Witch will play an antagonistic role in the movie, it never explicitly states that she is the main villain that causes all of the multiversal chaos that is shown. It’s implied that Doctor Strange himself brought chaos to Earth 616 when Wong says, “You opened the door between universes, and we don’t know who or what will walk through it.” Viewers would believe this implication after Strange’s tampering with the multiverse in No Way Home, but they’d be home. Scarlet Witch is the one summoning interdimensional horrors to Earth to capture America Chavez.

2 Quentin Beck’s Is a Multiversal Superhero

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Before the Infinity Saga was over, Marvel heavily hinted at the multiverse and the major role it would play in the upcoming saga. One hint is in Spider-Man: Far From Home’s trailer, in which Peter meets a man named Quentin Beck, who claims to be a hero from an alternative universe. With the help of Nick Fury, the two battle large monsters across Europe, and Quentin tries to teach Peter about being a hero. The trailer cleverly leaves out the major plot twist of Far From Home, which is that Quentin is not a multiversal traveler, but a former disgruntled Stark Industries employee who has turned to villainy to get attention.

1 Hulk Being Faked In Infinity War’s Trailer

Avengers: Infinity War: 2018

While other MCU trailers rely on scene splicing and omission of details, the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War simply lies. At the climax of the trailer all the Avengers can be seen running into battle, including the Hulk. Not only is this scene not in the movie, the Hulk doesn’t join the battle in Wakanda. Hulk is so afraid and ashamed after losing to Thanos, that he refuses to come out again, no matter how hard Bruce tries to summon him. So viewers going into Infinity War hoping to see Hulk raging in battle were sorely disappointed, as all they got was Bruce in an Iron Man suit.

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