Walt Disney Studios' marketing president explains why Marvel's first trailer for Eternals showed so little of the decades-spanning epic. After taking a year off amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is back in full swing. 2021 will see the release of four movies, with Black Widow being the first in just over two weeks. Later on, tucked away in the fall, is Eternals, the first MCU film directed by Oscar winner Chloé Zhao. Eternals was supposed to premiere last year, but the pandemic delayed it to 2021.
Fans got their first proper look at Eternals in late May with a trailer that was noticeably different than past Marvel clips. In introducing the titular group of near-immortal cosmic beings, the Eternals trailer kept the attention off of the action scenes and instead focused on the characters' early interactions with humans. The slowed-down approach, as well as the quieter tone, cemented the film as a unique MCU film that fit with Zhao's wider filmography. At the same time, some wondered why the typical Marvel trappings were left out.
Asad Ayaz, Disney's marketing president who has shepherded various Marvel campaigns over the years, recently spoke about the studio's approach to Eternals in an interview with THR. The decision to keep the first Eternals trailer vague was an intentional one, Ayaz said, because they have a lot planned for the film. Also, Eternals arrives after two other movies. Ayaz explained:
"If you saw the Eternals teaser, it really gave nothing away. It’s just an introduction to the characters and tone. It was a very, very early tease. We have so much more to do on that. We will be very judicious because we do have other films and shows prior to Eternals hitting. And Eternals is such a special movie with all-new characters, and we have two Marvel movies prior to that. So that gives us an advantage in using those to expose people more to Eternals, but also spacing things out."
Eternals boasts a massive cast that includes heavyweights like Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, and Gemma Chan. Many of the characters found within the film aren't well-known by audiences, so Marvel will need to approach it in a way that hooks in casual viewers. The vague trailer might have confounded some fans, but it certainly worked as a tease for what's to come. Eternals is being presented as a new kind of MCU movie, and by keeping major details out of the first trailer, Marvel has given the movie an intriguing spin. It could make even more fans flock to the second Eternals trailer just out of curiosity stirred by the first.
Plus, as Ayaz said, there is still Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to get through. Black Widow found itself in a unique place, having already begun its marketing campaign last year before the pandemic. It needed to restart this year after covering a lot of ground before. Meanwhile, Shang-Chi has only just begun its promotion, with the first trailer debuting in April. More teases will arrive throughout the summer in the lead-up to its September release. All of this is to say, there is more ahead for Eternals, and it sounds like it'll be quite exciting, even if it takes some time to arrive. There's a purpose behind this approach, and it'll be interesting to see it unfold.
Source: THR
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