Marvel premieres first Avengers: Doomsday trailer at CinemaCon
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(From left) American film-maker Joe Russo and actors Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr promote Avengers: Doomsday at CinemaCon on April 16.
PHOTO: AFP
LAS VEGAS – Disney showcased the first theatrical trailer of the new Marvel franchise film, Avengers: Doomsday, on April 16 during the closing day of CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
The clip – played twice for the enthusiastic audience at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace – offered the first look at Robert Downey Jr as the villainous Doctor Doom. It marks the American actor’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the death of Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame (2019).
The footage also teased several dramatic moments from the movie, including a fight between Gambit and Shang-Chi – played by American actor Channing Tatum and Canadian actor Simu Liu respectively – and English actor Patrick Stewart reprising his role as X-Men’s Professor Xavier, warning: “Something’s coming, something we may not be able to deter.”
At the end of the trailer, American actor Chris Evans returns as his character Steve Rogers, otherwise known as Captain America, appearing before a surprised-looking Thor (Chris Hemsworth) as the Norse god’s Mjolnir hammer flies into Rogers’ hands.
Both Evans and Downey Jr were on the stage at CinemaCon to present the trailer alongside the film’s directors, brothers Joe and Anthony Russo.
“I said I would only come back if there was a real reason,” Evans told the crowd. “And in Doomsday, there is a very real reason that these heroes need Steve Rogers.”
Avengers: Doomsday follows the events of Avengers: Endgame, bringing together a host of Marvel characters new and old, including the X-Men, previously excluded from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The movie will have its US premiere on Dec 18, the same day as Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three. Both movies will open in Singapore cinemas on Dec 17.
Top Gun 3 officially in the works
Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures announced on April 16 that Top Gun 3 is officially happening, with American actor Tom Cruise back as daring pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
The studio’s film co-head Josh Greenstein said the movie was “officially in development with a script well under way”, adding that Cruise would reunite with producer Jerry Bruckheimer on the project.
The original 1986 film helped propel Cruise, 63, to superstardom, and the 2022 sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, earned US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) worldwide.
Tom Cruise will be back as daring pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun 3.
PHOTO: AFP
Cruise was not at the presentation, but did narrate a film used to open the event, which focused on Paramount’s commitment to releasing films on the big screen.
At the end, Cruise – sitting atop the water tower on the studio’s lot – says: “The future looks great from here.”
Legendary American director Steven Spielberg, who publicly credited Cruise with helping to get moviegoers back into cinemas after the Covid-19 pandemic with Top Gun: Maverick, offered a sneak peek of his upcoming film Disclosure Day on April 15.
Disclosure Day is his latest movie about aliens and humanity since he first tapped the genre 50 years ago. The film shows humanity crossing paths with extraterrestrial life, a plot reminiscent of his 1977 film Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.
“A half a century later, I made Disclosure Day with a lot more certainty that there’s more truth than fiction in the movie,” Spielberg told the crowd at the Colosseum.
Disclosure Day, which opens in Singapore on June 11, stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Eve Hewson and Colman Domingo, among others.
“This movie is an experience, and all you need to get from the beginning to the end is a seatbelt,” Spielberg said.
The 79-year-old veteran film-maker said he has been curious about “what’s happening in the night sky” since he was a child.
“I truly believe that this movie is going to answer questions, and cause you to ask a lot of questions,” he teased.
Steven Spielberg accepts the MPA America250 Award onstage during CinemaCon on April 15.
PHOTO: AFP
The thrice Oscar-winning director received an award from the Motion Picture Association during his appearance at CinemaCon.
Spielberg also discussed the importance of long theatrical release windows, as streaming platforms continue to take a bite out of box-office revenues.
“I am particularly excited that Universal has recently announced their commitment to a 45-day window for the wide releases,” Spielberg said. “But today, I hear 60 days?“ he joked. AFP
