Blockbuster Month is celebrating the true titans of the genre. In the weeks ahead, you’ll read through a variety of features digging deep into the greatest hits of Hollywood, from popcorn classics to underrated gems. Today, we head to the theater early with Editor-in-Chief Michael Roffman to revisit the greatest trailers in summer blockbuster history.
Hype begins with the trailer. Sure, there’s the studio announcement, the lobby poster, even the intellectual property itself, but there’s nothing like first seeing those epic few minutes. If you’re lucky, you get some glimpses of the action, a sense of the film’s tone, maybe even pieces of a score, and a tagline that sends shivers up your spine.
Yeah, that’s when the magic sets in.
Today, we take the trailer for granted. We not only know there’s one coming, but we know when and where, and that sense of anticipation has now become an extension of the experience for better or worse. Even so, there’s still an art to the medium, and that magic has yet to diminish. Why do else do you think the best of ’em trend online?
That’s why if we’re talking summer blockbusters, we have to talk about their trailers. They’re the conductors of hype, the invitation to can’t-miss events, and the reason so many moviegoers lose sleep counting down the days leading up to the big day. And, as you’ll see ahead, some of them turn out to be better than the films themselves.
Editors’ Picks
Now, a couple of rules to the list ahead (and these apply to the majority of our Blockbuster Month coverage): 1.) The trailers you’re about to revisit are strictly limited to late-April to Labor Day Weekend releases, and 2.) We only picked one film per franchise and intellectual property. Admittedly, that last rule was the easiest of the two to follow.
So, if you’re wondering why epic trailers for Logan, or The Lord of the Rings, or even the new Star Wars sequels are nowhere to be seen here, well, it’s because they were released in different seasons. Blockbuster Month is all about summer blockbusters.
Alas, here … we … go!
–Michael Roffman
Editor-in-Chief