What the Hell Are the Russo Brothers Talking About?

With the fourth (and final?) teaser for Avengers: Doomsday hitting the internet on Tuesday, the film’s directors decided to shake things up a bit. On their official Instagram, Joe and Anthony Russo captioned the latest footage with the following quote: “What you’ve been watching for the last 4 weeks… are not teasers. Or trailers. They are stories. They are clues… Pay attention. #DoomsdayHasBegun.†Um, what? What is this cryptic crap? Seems like we’re going to have to break it down.

Now, by definition, the four clips (which have featured Steve Rogers, Thor, the X-Men, and today, Wakandans and the Fantastic Four) are, without a doubt, teasers. That’s just factual. They are video clips teasing something in the future. So we can wipe that off the list. Not a great start.

That they are not “trailers,†however, makes a bit more sense. Generally, a trailer doesn’t focus on one single character. Instead, they usually give a broader overview of a film, and none of these do that. In fact, none of these tell us almost anything about the film itself. We’re also guessing that very little, if any, of the footage is even in the movie at all. So yes, we agree, not “trailers.â€

“Stories?†Sure. Each of these definitely-not-teasers does tell a story. That Steve Rogers is now a father and, somehow, will help his fellow Avengers again despite very clearly giving that up. That Thor is now fighting for something bigger than Asgard: his daughter. The X-Men are being brought into a battle they never thought they’d face. And, things in Wakanda have been tough, but new help, from another dimension, is on the way. Yes, these are stories. That’s pretty obvious.

“Clues?†Again, that kind of goes without saying. But clues to what exactly? The literal text here isn’t exactly clueing us into anything. So maybe that’s why these specific characters are being chosen. Are they being chosen for reasons outside of marketing? Are these targets for Dr. Doom? Are we seeing something from his point of view and not an omniscient one? Will these scenes be crucial to an audience member’s understanding of the movie without being in the movie? This, of everything the Russos said, is the most interesting. But also, exceedingly obvious.

Finally, “Pay attention.†We have been! We’ve watched all the definitely-not-teasers. We’ve looked for clues. We’ve seen the Sentinels. And, in a broader context, we’ve seen Disney and Marvel sort of fumble this whole thing, with none of the trailers being a surprise thanks to early leaks. Is that part of the plan, too? Are those clues?

And what the hell is the point of this Doomsday Clock that launched today? Is it literally just a clock clicking back down to the film’s release? Why is that necessary? Each of the definitely-not-teasers has also ended like this. Could this clock be the clue we’ve been looking for? Are we just not paying enough attention? Is this the “#DoomsdayHasBegun†you tagged the post with? What is happening here?

Whatever the case, we’ll say this. The Russos being purposefully cryptic is working. We’re talking about their movie 11 months from release. That’s not a bad thing. Hopefully, the movie follows suit.

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