3 Years Ago, The MCU Released the Greatest Superhero Trailer of the 2020s (And Marvel Will Struggle to Beat It)

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In the 2020s, there have been tons of superhero movies infiltrating multiplexes. However, the generic trailers for titles like Morbius and The Flash show that it isn’t easy to make a memorable superhero movie trailer. They look especially welcome compared to the champion of these trailers in this decade, that first teaser for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

A Trailer Needle Drop Fit For a King

Before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever began its marketing campaign, endless questions lingered over what on Earth writer/director Ryan Coogler was going to do with this title. After the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman in August 2020, what would a Black Panther movie even look like? The Wakanda Forever teaser immediately established a more contemplative tone by opening on Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia staring out into the ocean as a cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” plays. While many superhero movie trailers instantly jump into explosions, this Wakanda Forever teaser was going in a different direction.

Instead, there was more considerate, precise emotional pacing here that perfectly fit wth the teaser’s song choice. Rather than ignoring the realities of loss, this teaser reckoned with them. As the teaser went on, more and more striking, even mythic imagery began emerging through the very first glimpses of Namor’s underwater kingdom. This occurs as Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” begins creeping into the soundtrack before dominating the final half of the teaser. This song shift doesn’t dismiss the process of coping with grief. However, this audio choice and images of Shuri and Riri Williams embracing suggest moments of joy can transpire even after unspeakable grief.

The complicated emotional tableau of Wakanda Forever’s teaser is only matched in intricacy by the delicate dance between the teaser’s two needle drops. The way these tunes bounce off each other is fascinating, especially whenever flourishes in the songs mirror on-screen actions like spears hitting the ground or doors exploding. The teaser’s uniqueness extends to the title card, which is accompanied by a woman’s voice whispering “Wakanda Forever”. Emphasizing quiet vocals encapsulates how this teaser gets so much power out of subtler details. It’s a tremendously moving accomplishment conjuring up emotions not usually generated by superhero movie marketing materials.

Wakanda Forever’s Teaser Has Showmanship Other 2020s Superhero Movie Trailers Lack

The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever teaser is already an impressive accomplishment just on its own terms. However, it’s especially impressive considering the dearth of creativity marking so many superhero movie trailers in this decade. Compare this precise editing to the mishmash of spectacle marking the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom trailers, for example. Within those promotional materials, it was hard to even get a sense of what was on-screen at a given moment, let alone what emotions the characters were going through.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s trailers, meanwhile, were way too busy in their editing and lacked glimpses into the interior worlds of its characters. The Flash’s various trailers had no personality in terms of their needle drops. In this meager crop of superhero movie trailers going through the motions visually and sonically, Wakanda Forever’s masterful teaser trailer was especially impressive. Best of all, its imagery and atmosphere suggested a feature that was deeply intertwined within the real world, whereas trailers for titles like Black Adam suggested films frustratingly divorced from reality’s nuances.

Unique, tragic real-world events informed the teaser trailer that introduced the wider world to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Given that reality, it’s no surprise subsequent MCU projects, especially zippier outings like Deadpool & Wolverine, haven’t mimicked the structure and tone of this Wakanda Forever teaser. Still, more 2020s superhero movie trailers could stand to take cues from the very precise editing and emotional choices that this teaser indulged in. Wakanda Forever’s teaser dared to give people what they didn’t expect, a frustratingly rare occurrence in modern superhero cinema marketing.

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