Honestly, it’s hard to remember a time when the entire internet collectively lost its mind over a single two-minute video, but that's exactly what happened on November 29, 2017. If you were online that morning, you remember the refresh button. You remember the leaked low-res footage from D23 that looked like it was filmed on a potato. When the official trailer of Infinity War finally dropped, it wasn't just a commercial for a movie. It was the culmination of a ten-year bet that Marvel Studios made on its audience.
I’ve watched that trailer probably fifty times. Not just for the hype, but because it’s a masterclass in how to manage expectations while hiding the entire plot in plain sight. It’s been years since Avengers: Infinity War hit theaters, yet we’re still seeing studios try—and mostly fail—to replicate that specific lightning in a bottle.
The Trailer of Infinity War: Breaking the Internet Before it was a Cliche
Records are meant to be broken, sure. But the numbers for this specific teaser were genuinely stupid. Within 24 hours, the trailer of Infinity War racked up 230 million views. That smashed the previous record held by IT, which had 197 million. Why? Because the MCU had spent a decade building a relationship with fans. You weren't just watching a trailer for one film; you were watching the payoff to eighteen previous movies.
It started with that haunting voiceover. Do you remember? The "There was an idea..." speech, shared between Nick Fury, Tony Stark, Vision, and Thor. It was a callback to the 2012 Avengers trailer, but it felt weary. Tired. Heavy. It signaled immediately that the era of quippy, consequences-free superhero brawls was over.
The music played a massive role too. Alan Silvestri’s theme was slowed down, stripped of its brassy triumph, and replaced with a sense of impending doom. It’s rare for a marketing team to lean so hard into "everyone you love might die," but Marvel leaned in with both feet.
Misdirection as an Art Form
Here is what people often forget: the trailer of Infinity War lied to us.
We’ve all seen the shot. Captain America, Black Panther, the Winter Soldier, and a charging army in Wakanda. It’s the "hero shot" of the century. Except, if you’ve seen the movie, you know that the Hulk isn't in that scene. In the trailer, Bruce Banner is fully hulked out, running alongside the Wakandans. In the actual film, Bruce is stuck in the Hulkbuster armor because he's having "performance issues" with his alter ego.
👉 See also: When Was Kai Cenat Born? What You Didn't Know About His Early Life
This wasn't a mistake. It was a deliberate choice by the Russo Brothers to protect the narrative. They knew fans would dissect every single frame. By digitally inserting the Hulk, they kept the mystery of Bruce's arc intact. They did the same thing with the Infinity Stones. If you look closely at Thanos’s gauntlet in certain trailer shots, he’s missing stones that he actually possesses in those specific scenes in the movie.
It’s a gutsy move. Usually, fans hate being "lied to" by marketing. But here, it worked because it preserved the shock of the theater experience. It turned the trailer into a red herring.
Why the Tone Shift Worked
Most superhero trailers up to that point followed a very specific rhythm. Joke, action, joke, big orchestral swell, title card.
The trailer of Infinity War felt like a funeral march.
Think about the visual of Peter Parker’s arm hair standing up—the first onscreen confirmation of his "Peter Tingle" or Spider-Sense. It was a tiny, grounded human moment followed immediately by a giant circular ship descending upon New York City. The scale was massive, but the stakes felt personal.
Then you had Thanos.
✨ Don't miss: Anjelica Huston in The Addams Family: What You Didn't Know About Morticia
Up until this point, Josh Brolin’s Thanos had been a guy sitting in a chair. He was a purple meme. The trailer needed to make him terrifying in under thirty seconds. When he stepped out of that portal, minus the armor, looking more like a cosmic monk than a warlord, the vibe shifted. "Fun isn't something one considers when balancing the universe," he says. That line isn't even in the final movie, by the way. It was recorded specifically for the teaser or cut later, but it did the heavy lifting of establishing his philosophy.
The Impact on Modern Marketing
Every "event" movie now tries to have an "Infinity War moment." Look at the trailers for Spider-Man: No Way Home or Deadpool & Wolverine. They use the same breadcrumbs, the same "legacy" cues. But they often feel manufactured.
The trailer of Infinity War felt earned.
It also changed how trailers are "eventized." We now have trailers for trailers. We have "announcement dates" for the drop. Marvel essentially forced the industry to treat a 120-second clip as a global news event. You had people filming reaction videos that got millions of views just for watching a screen. It was a communal cultural moment that barely exists anymore in our fractured, streaming-heavy world.
Things You Probably Missed Even After the 10th Rewatch
If you go back and watch the trailer of Infinity War now, knowing how the story ends, it’s a different experience.
- The Vision’s Scream: We see Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive trying to pry the Mind Stone out of Vision's head. It’s brutal. At the time, we thought he was a goner in the first ten minutes.
- Tony’s Hand: There’s a shot of Tony Stark looking devastated, his hands covered in dirt and blood. Fans spent months theorizing whose hand he was holding. Was it Peter? Was it Pepper? The mystery drove the engagement.
- The Guardians Reveal: The very end, with Thor saying "Who the hell are you guys?" was the perfect release of tension. It reminded us that despite the darkness, this was still the MCU.
Critics sometimes argue that trailers reveal too much. In this case, the trailer of Infinity War revealed the scale but successfully hid the soul. It didn't tell us about the Snap. It didn't tell us about Gamora's sacrifice. It just told us that the bill was finally coming due.
🔗 Read more: Isaiah Washington Movies and Shows: Why the Star Still Matters
Actionable Takeaways for Movie Buffs and Creators
If you’re a film student or just someone who loves the mechanics of storytelling, there’s a lot to learn from how this was handled.
First, look at the Pacing of Information. The trailer starts with a slow burn, focuses on character faces, and only escalates to "world-ending CGI" in the final third. Most trailers fail because they start at an eleven and have nowhere to go.
Second, notice the Focus on the Antagonist. This trailer was as much about Thanos as it was about the Avengers. By centering the threat, the heroes’ reactions feel more authentic.
Finally, consider the Community Aspect. If you're a creator, you can't manufacture the kind of hype the trailer of Infinity War had without a foundation. You have to give people something to care about over a long period before you ask them to freak out over a teaser.
If you want to relive the hype, go back to YouTube and find a "theatre reaction" video from 2017. Watching a room full of strangers lose their minds when Steve Rogers steps out of the shadows in Edinburgh is a reminder of why we go to the movies in the first place.
To really understand the technical brilliance of this marketing, you should compare the first teaser to the final "Official Trailer" released months later. The first one is about mood; the second is about the stakes. Both are essential pieces of the most successful film campaign in history. Go watch them back-to-back and look for the lighting differences in the Wakanda battle—you’ll see just how much post-production happened between the trailer drop and the film's release.
Now, go check out the original D23 leaked descriptions compared to the final product; it’s a fascinating look at how Marvel tweaks their footage to keep us guessing until the very last second.