Infinity War upstages Star Wars at fan expo
Ahair-raising teaser trailer for Avengers: Infinity War stole the show at the star-studded presentation of the Walt Disney Studios upcoming live-action films at the studios’ fan convention D23, upstaging even Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Mary Poppins.
Star Wars fans did get a little morsel of footage in a behind-the-scenes featurette from the upcoming space saga and a lively panel with the film’s writer-director Rian Johnson and a few of the film’s stars. But audiences have yet to see a full trailer for the film.
Instead, it was the ultimate Marvel Cinematic Universe team-up Avengers: Infinity War that got fans really excited.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige was on hand with a stage full of stars that included Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Tom Holland as SpiderMan, Sebastian Stan as The Winter Soldier, Elizabeth Olsen as The Scarlett Witch, and Josh Brolin as the ultimate bad guy Thanos.
The trailer, which has not yet been released online, was packed to the brim with tantalising scenes, including Thor, floating and near dead in deep space being rescued by the Guardians of the Galaxy; SpiderMan’s hair standing up on his arm; Tony Stark ominously warning that, “He’s coming for us,” likely talking about Thanos; and Thanos himself gripping a weakened Thor’s skull and looking ready to crack it with ease. Avengers: Infinity War comes out May 4, 2018.
Audiences were excited to get a glimpse, too, of the behind-thescenes footage of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. A sequel to The Force Awakens,
The Last Jedi picks up with that film’s near-literal cliffhanger when Daisy Ridley’s Rey and Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker meet.
Rian Johnson laughed that this wasn’t his first job for Disney - he worked for the company’s Disney Channel before he made his first film.
“Pre High School Musical Disney Channel,” Johnson added.
He was joined on stage by Ridley, Hamill, John Boyega, Laura Dern, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran and Benicio Del Toro to hype the film and their shared love of Star Wars.
Curious newcomer Tran, Johnson said, treated the whole production like “an episode of Mr. Rogers,” as she explored every corner of production, while Dern, also new to the series, couldn’t help but mouth the word “pew” when shooting her blaster during filming.
Johnson also assured the audience, who have only seen Boyega’s Finn in a seeming comatose state in the teaser trailer, that his character would get to “see some action” in the film.
“Finn is about to have a formidable opponent,” Boyega added, as he sauntered over to Christie to size her up. “It’s going to be very cool.”
The Last Jedi blasts into theaters Dec. 15. AP