Marvel Studios dropped a trailer for their Disney+ TV shows at Super Bowl LIV - and here’s our full trailer breakdown. The new Disney+ streaming service is Disney’s answer to Netflix, and it launched to popular and critical acclaim with The Mandalorian. Since then, however, Disney+ has struggled to match The Mandalorian’s success without any major brand shows to draw viewers.
Fortunately for Disney, one of their biggest studios is soon to launch a wealth of original content on the streaming service. Marvel Studios is expanding the MCU on to the small screen with a range of TV shows starring characters from the movies themselves. Marvel and Disney wisely decided to use the Super Bowl LIV as an opportunity to give viewers their first footage from Falcon & Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and even Loki.
It’s too soon for Marvel to give away any major story secrets, of course; instead, the Marvel Disney+ trailer serves to whet the audience appetite. Still, here’s out full breakdown of the Marvel Disney+ trailer.
15. Falcon Practicing With Captain America’s Shield
The Marvel Disney+ trailer opens with shots of Sam Wilson training with Captain America’s shield. At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly Steve Rogers appointed Falcon as his successor as Captain America and gave him a shield. It’s worth remembering that Captain America’s shield is quite remarkable, composed of the rare metal Vibranium; that means even an ordinary human will find the shield to be a formidable weapon. Unfortunately, it’s doubtful that Sam will quickly master Cap’s trademark ricochet throws. In this case, he tosses it at a tree - and wedges it into the bark rather than getting it to bounce back.
14. A New Marvel Studios Disney+ Logo
Over the last couple of years, Marvel Studios has gotten increasingly experimental with the way they render their own logo. Avengers: Endgame, for example, featured a version that crumbled into dust; the Black Widow version is a homage to Natasha Romanoff’s traditional hourglass logo. As such, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that Marvel’s switched things up a little for their Disney+ shows. The Marvel Disney+ trailer shows the usual red logo shift to a deep blue. It’s tremendously effective, and should ensure viewers can differentiate at once between a movie and a Disney+ TV series.
13. Falcon Versus Paratroopers - Possibly Hydra Agents
Steve Rogers may have chosen Sam Wilson, but that doesn’t mean the US Government agrees. In fact, Spider-Man: Far From Home revealed that the world believes Captain America died in the battle against Thanos, suggesting the Avengers decided to keep time travel a secret. Given that’s the case, Sam will struggle to account for just how he got hold of the star-spangled shield, let alone persuade the government that he should be the next Captain America. Instead, the US Government choose their own candidate - a character known to comic book fans as the US Agent - and Sam retains his Falcon identity.
Falcon is shown engaging in an aerial dogfight with a mysterious group of agents. They’re actually using a traditional SHIELD skydive suit, but their colors are particularly interesting; in the comics, green and yellow are actually the colors of Hydra agents. This brief shot may well hint at the return of Hydra, last seen on the big screen in Avengers: Age of Ultron but confirmed to still exist when their representatives attempted to purchase Pym Particles in Ant-Man.
12. Bucky Barnes Confronts Zemo
The Marvel Disney+ trailer moves on to show two more major characters from the series; Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, holding a gun on Baron Zemo. Zemo was last seen in Captain America: Civil War, when he was captured by Black Panther and imprisoned in the Raft as a dangerous terrorist. The circumstances of his return are currently unknown; it’s unclear whether he’ll still be a villain, or whether he could instead forge an uneasy alliance with Falcon and Winter Soldier. The Marvel Disney+ trailer carefully avoids showing Zemo in his much anticipated purple mask, a core aspect of his comic book identity, and confirmed to appear in the Falcon and Winter Soldier series.
11. Vision and Wanda in Black and White
The Marvel Disney+ trailer moves on from Falcon and Winter Soldier to the far more mysterious WandaVision. Featuring Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany’s Vision, this series is something of an enigma. According to Paul Bettany, the show is “bonkers,” “out there” and “nuts.” Portions of WandaVision are reportedly in the style of a 1950s sitcom, and the trailer confirms those with black-and-white shots of Vision and Scarlet Witch living a married life together. It’s unclear how Vision has returned from the dead, let alone how this strange concept fits into the overarching narrative of the MCU. The popular assumption is that Scarlet Witch’s grasp on reality is crumbling and that her powers are out of control, but that may be a misdirect.
10. Different Versions of Wanda, Including A Comic Book One
The Marvel Disney+ trailer then skips through a number of different iterations of Wanda, perhaps suggesting there’ll be multiple realities colliding in WandaVision. The most interesting is a comic book accurate Scarlet Witch, complete with the traditional headpiece. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has confirmed that WandaVision will finally see Wanda Maximoff become the Scarlet Witch, but naturally, he’s currently avoiding explaining what he means by that remark. In the comics, writer James Robinson revealed that Wanda was born into a line of mystics, and that the titles of Scarlet Witch and Scarlet Warlock ran through her family history. It may be that WandaVision will draw inspiration from this, retconning Wanda as a major sorceress ahead of her role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
9. Vision and Wanda’s Marriage
The next shot shows Vision and Scarlet Witch on their wedding day. It’s clearly from the 1950s segment, and both characters are in their full attire, leaning in for a kiss to celebrate their wedding. It’s interesting to note that, so far, most of the shots of Vision himself are in black and white - in marked contrast to the multiple versions of Scarlet Witch. It seems another of the Wandas is watching this on TV, as though it really is some sort of sitcom, adding weight to the idea that reality has gone haywire.
8. The Universe Is Expanding
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has always been quite open about his love for Star Wars; he was a fan in the years between the original trilogy and the prequels, when it seemed unlikely that more movies would ever be released. As such, he grew up loving the old Expanded Universe, a series of novels, TV shows, comics and RPG guides that added tremendous depth to the Star Wars galaxy. Given Feige’s background, it’s surely not a coincidence that he’s attaching the phrase “expanding universe” to the Marvel Disney+ shows. Rather, it suggests that these series should be viewed as the spiritual successor of the EU, serving a similar purpose. This is hardly the first time Feige has lifted an idea from Star Wars. The Marvel Studios “First 10 Years” promotional push was deliberately inspired by Lucasfilm’s 1987 promos.
7. The World Celebrates The US Agent
In a wonderfully meta touch, the Marvel Disney+ trailer moves on to a brief glimpse of the US Agent. This is John Walker, the US Government’s choice for the next Captain America, and it sounds as though the crowds love him. In the comics, John Walker has been a hero, a villain, and pretty much everything in between; he was initially celebrated as Steve Rogers’ successor, but went over the edge when he brutally attacked a pair of supervillains, Left-Winger and Right-Winger, to avenge the murder of his parents. Later, the Red Skull engineered a confrontation between Walker and the original Captain America. After Walker’s defeat, Steve resumed his role as Captain America. It’s generally assumed this story will be adapted slightly, with Baron Zemo as the mastermind and Falcon as the one who beats US Agent and claims the shield.
This is the second time Marvel has actually incorporated the Super Bowl into one of their trailers. The first was last year, with the Avengers: Endgame Super Bowl trailer, which included an overhead shot of the deserted stadium. There’s a striking contrast between these two images, confirming that the world has moved on from the snap. It will be interesting to see whether this becomes a tradition.
6. Falcon and Winter Soldier Working Together
Falcon and Winter Soldier are shown working together. They’re in civilian attire, and their posture is closed and combative, perhaps suggesting this shot is from early on in their partnership, and they’re disagreeing about something. It’s impossible to say quite where they are; there’s been some speculation that the building is a prison, perhaps the one that housed Baron Zemo, but that doesn’t really seem likely.
5. Wanda and Vision’s Twins Are Teased
In the comics, Scarlet Witch’s mental breakdown led to her using magic to warp reality and create two children. There have long been rumors that WandaVision will introduce these twins, and they’re confirmed by the Marvel Disney+ trailer. One striking shot sees Wanda reacting in horror as she looks down at two cots, and both babies spit out pacifiers. Fans of the Young Avengers are eagerly hoping these children will grow up pretty quickly, becoming the superheroes Wiccan and Speed. It’s interesting to contrast Wanda’s reaction to the twins with Vision’s; he seems fairly relaxed about it - supporting the notion that he, too, is part of the reality warp.
4. A First Look At Loki
The Marvel Disney+ trailer moves on to give an unexpected first look at Loki. In Avengers: Endgame, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes unwittingly created a new timeline in which Loki absconded with the Tesseract in 2012 shortly after the Battle of New York. He reportedly learns to use the Tesseract’s power to travel through time - a further expansion of the Space Stone’s powerset - and soon begins to wander through the Multiverse. No doubt the Trickster God will cause chaos wherever he goes, as in this shot, where he promises to burn someplace to the ground.
3. The Time Variance Authority
Loki’s shirt has the letters “TVA” emblazoned on it. This stands for the ‘Time Variance Authority,’ an organization who - in the comics - is dedicated to policing the Multiverse. They possess sophisticated time travel capabilities and even have the power to prune entire timelines if they deem them too dangerous to exist. It’s safe to assume the TVA watched the events of Avengers: Endgame with a degree of concern. By the looks of it, they attempt to capture Loki and hold him against his will. The TVA may well be a major recurring part of the MCU going forward, given they also have strong ties to She-Hulk, who’s due to make her MCU debut on Disney+ as well.
2. Mr and Mrs Vision Living Their Happily Ever After
The final shot from WandaVision shows Mr and Mrs Vision looking happily at the camera, and carries the sense that the couple are claiming their “Happily Ever After.” It’s the perfect promotional shot, because of course it all feels strangely uncomfortable and unreal. In the real MCU, Vision is dead, killed when Thanos brutally ripped the Mind Stone from his forehead. This black-and-white reality feels like a dreamworld, presumably conjured up by Scarlet Witch or else by one of her enemies, such as the monstrous being Nightmare. That means this image of bliss may really be a trap.
1. Falcon and Winter Soldier Clasp Hands
Let’s circle back to Falcon and Winter Soldier for one final shot, which shows the two heroes shaking hands. Sam and Bucky were Steve Rogers’ closest friends, but the truth is that they haven’t always gotten on. Still, it looks as though they’ve been able to put their past behind them in order to work together. This time round, though, neither will be the sidekick; it will be a partnership of equals, making this the first true team-up in the MCU.
More: Who Is U.S. Agent? Marvel’s Evil Captain America Replacement Explained
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