Trailers are meant for two things. First, they’re meant to market whatever they are showing, getting viewers interested enough to possibly watch it. The second reason, however, is to gain excitement. Plenty of massive, highly-anticipated movies from the past probably didn’t need to show any footage for them to still make hundreds of millions or even billions at the box office — but it’s the excitement. A movie trailer is basically an art film, because it doesn’t just show clips of a movie. A trailer is carefully edited to try and draw enough interest and excitement from the audiences that watch it. So, I decided to choose seven movie trailers from the past ten years that I think are the most exciting and well-designed trailers. Whether or not the movie was any good is trivial for this list, as I’d like to only discuss the trailers themselves. Also, there are tons and tons of other great trailers out there, so let me know what your favorites are from the past. With all that, please silence your phones as we take a look at what’s coming soon to a theater near you . . .
All images below are linked to their respective official trailers via YouTube.
Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens (Official Trailer)
By October 2015, fans were already hyped for the first Star Wars film in a decade, and this trailer did nothing but amplify that hype while still keeping many of the major plot details out. Sure, the story is of course just Rebels against the First Order, but many of the specific details of the story were left quiet. One of the best things about this trailer is the excellent music, which starts slow and soft but eventually grows into the fantastic new rendition of the Star Wars theme. The music alone gave fans the chills, but the trailer also showed amazing fight scenes (including with the Millennium Falcon) as well as the reveal of Han Solo and Princess Leia returning. It’s a perfect example of a fantastic movie trailer that doesn’t reveal way too many details or surprises.
Mission: Impossible — Fallout (Official Trailer)
This is a trailer I vividly remember watching constantly back when it first dropped, even though I had never seen a Mission: Impossible movie and barely knew who Tom Cruise was. In fact, I only just watched Mission: Impossible — Fallout for the first time two years ago. Aside from that, this trailer does nothing but get you excited. The trailer starts by giving audiences a bit of details about the story, until it just goes nuts and starts showing some insane fight scenes and, of course, Tom Cruise’s death-defying stunts. All of this is themed to the song Friction by Imagine Dragons, which in my opinion is one of the best uses of a song in a movie trailer ever, as it perfectly matches the excitement from watching the action sequences and intertwines perfectly with the Mission: Impossible theme. It all adds up to a fantastic movie trailer through and through.
Avengers: Infinity War (Official Trailer)
The end to Marvel’s climactic Infinity Saga was one of the biggest box office successes in cinema history, and it all started with the first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War. Posted just six months before the film’s debut in April 2018, the trailer (like The Force Awakens) only made fans more excited. It featured basically every Marvel hero from the MCU up to that point, including the returns of some heroes not seen in over two years, including Captain America. The trailer starts with the main Avengers reciting lines from Nick Fury’s iconic speech from the original Avengers in 2012, and from there the movie only looked better and better. It’s no wonder why it’s currently the most-viewed trailer in YouTube history with over 267 million views, leading to its $2 billion raking at the box office once it hit theaters.
Top Gun: Maverick (Official Trailer)
Top Gun: Maverick was one of most anticipated movies of summer 2022, especially with its unfortunate delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was first shown off with a teaser trailer that dropped at San Deigo Comic-Con in July 2019, and it did nothing but give audiences the chills watching. The trailer was one that both made Top Gun fans and newcomers interested and exciting, especially with it being the first time audiences witnessed the incredible shots filmed in the F-18 planes. It didn’t share any plot details, only giving people a glimpse at what the film would be — which is exactly what a great teaser should do.
The Matrix Resurrections (Official Trailer 1)
Whether or not you enjoyed the unique reboot that was the fourth film in The Matrix franchise, there’s no denying how incredibly epic the first trailer is. Themed to the tune of “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane and filled with wild action sequences and intriguing moments, the trailer perfectly lures you back into the magic of the The Matrix. Plus, it still does a nice job of not giving too many plot details — just enough to give audiences a general idea of the story, but nothing specific. For the most part, the film is just wildly-invented action scenes that make the movie look fantastic.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Official Teaser)
This may be one of the most beautiful movie trailers ever made. Sometimes, you don’t need a ton of dialogue in a trailer, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is proof of this. The trailer proves that fantastic music and amazing-looking scenes are all you need to make fans exciting. This trailer blends both a beautiful rendition of “No Woman No Cry” by Tems and “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar. Everything about this trailer is epic, and it makes for a powerful and uplifting experience. If you ask me, I might like watching this more than the actual film.
Avatar: The Way of Water (Official Trailer)
The main trailer for James Cameron’s second film set in the world of Pandora takes you back with those marvelous visuals with a powerful and exciting trailer that delivers everything great trailers do. Even if you weren’t a huge fan of the original Avatar, this preview of Avatar: The Way of Water will make you exciting. Just witnessing the brilliant visuals and beautiful music all rolled into one masterpiece of a movie trailer is an experience all on its own.
What’s your favorite movie trailer of all time? Let me know in the comments.
Follow us on Twitter – @RyansFortress
Follow us on Instagram – @ryans_fortress
Follow Megahit Media on Twitter – @Megahit_Media