As part of the marketing campaign of a film,movie trailershave the important job of inspiring curiosity in potential viewers without giving away important details. Without careful editing,movie trailers might give away important plot pointsand spoil movies. Thebest movie trailers everoften only cover a plot summary using memorable shots and lines that people will keep talking about for the months leading up to the release of the movies.
However, the impulse to hide major plot details, especially surprise reveals, from audiences can lead tomisleading movie trailers, which ensure viewers are taken by surprise, not because they can’t predict the movie, butinstead because they were expecting a different moviealtogether. A smaller manifestation of this instinct takes the form of including scenes and shots in trailers that never make it to the theatrical cut.
10Ellie Grabs the Leaf
Jurassic Park (1993)
Spielberg’s iconic monster thriller that started a franchise that is still going strong used a fascinating marketing tactic when it was first announced.The original teaser trailer for the 1993Jurassic Parkfeaturesno footage from the actual movieand is instead just a sequence of other scenes accompanied by a voiceover that summarizes the premise. With the next proper trailer of the movie, the cast and the setting were also revealed.
The trailer features a shot of Laura Dern’s character Ellie grabbing a leaf by holding her hand out of the car window. She’s knowledgeable about the plant and in a scene in the movie, she can be seen studying the leaf as well, but the shot where she grabs it is gone. It’s one of the manydeleted scenes from the originalJurassic Parkmovie, but it isn’t that important, and would only minorly add to Ellie’s well-established credibility. Cutting the shot for the sake of brevity makes perfect sense.
9Ethan Almost Collides with a Truck
Missions: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
Mission: Impossibleis all about unbelievable stunts, especially with the recurring theme of last-minute survival. While the literal countdown is the definitive feature of the climax of eachMission: Impossiblemovie, the most thrilling part of some of Ethan Hunt’s most daring stunts is that he barely survives. From almost getting his neck cut off by helicopter blades and avoiding them by literal inches, to slipping off a rope hanging from a helicopter and managing to hold on at the last possible moment,he never has a comfortable margin of errorand that adds to the suspense.
Why Mission: Impossible 6’s Helicopter Scenes Were So Hard To Film
The spectacular helicopter chase at the end of Mission: Impossible – Fallout was a notoriously difficult scene to film for several reasons.
The jam-packed pacing of the movies might make it seem like every stunt at least makes it to the final cut, but many of thebestMission: Impossibledeleted scenes are action sequences. One of the most notable of them appears in theMission: Impossible - Fallouttrailer. Ethan is piloting a helicopter and trying to escape from a pursuing helicopter, but on his way, he seemingly flies into a truck. Fans never find out if he’s able to swerve out of the way in time or how he survives because this stunt never made it into the movie.
8"Pork chops and applesauce" - Peter Brady
The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)
Cheesy, hilarious, and warm,The Brady Bunchis a golden-age family sitcom that has kept viewers enthralled and laughing till their bellies hurt for decades. Over two decades after the final episode aired on television,a movie was announced that wasneither a spinoff nor a sequel, but a parodyof the show, which many criticized for being politically tone-deaf because it aired at the height of the Vietnam War.
The Brady Bunch Movietrailer features an iconic reference to the show that rendered the otherwise funny moment iconic, but it’s unfortunately not in the actual movie itself.Peter Brady says he brought"pork chops and applesauce"for lunch, and this is an iconic callback to a scene from the original show. So, audiences were naturally disappointed when the line from the trailer was never said in the movie.
7Ana de Armas’s Scenes
Yesterday (2019)
The case ofYesterday’s trailer is almost like a meta-joke on the part of the writers, although there’s an actual reason for what happened. The trailer features shots of what appears to be a joint interview by James Corden with the protagonist, played by Himesh Patel, and Ana de Armas. However, in the actual movie,Ana de Armas never appears. The deleted scene featuring her was even released later on, but she’s not canonically a part ofYesterday.
Two fans sued Universal Studios for featuring Ana de Armas in theYesterdaytrailer, claiming it was a case of misleading marketing done to lure viewers. The case was eventually thrown out.
The story ofYesterdayfollows a guy who uses his knowledge of the Beatles' music to find success after a freak incident wipes out the history of the iconic band. The band that made him famous isn’t present in the world. Similarly, especially for fans of Ana de Armas who watched the movie for her, she’s the reason they saw it, but she herself isn’t in it. It’s almost like an ironic meta-reference to the movie’s concept. The real reasonwhy Ana de Armas was cut fromYesterdayis because it would draw focus away from the central romance.
6Michael Jai White’s Fight Scenes
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
TheKill Billduology feels like a heartfelt tale of revenge wrapped up in an exhibition of martial artistry. Extensive action set pieces with impeccable choreography anda relentless flow of blood turn massacre and suffering into moments of thrilland entertainment. Some of the best action heroes of the time make cameos in the two movies, which total a runtime of over four hours.
The final cut of neither movie features the action scenes of martial artist Michael Jai White.
However, despite such an extended runtime and the singular focus on delivering unbelievable but engaging fight sequences, the final cut of neither movie features the action scenes of martial artist Michael Jai White. His impressive physicality and his impeccable martial arts skills have proven to be worthy of attention through his many cameos in Hollywood, but his scene, which seems to be hinted at in a blink-and-you-miss-it shot from the trailer, is nowhere to be seen inKill Bill Vol. 2itself.
5Jyn Faces a TIE Fighter
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Of all the culprits that are guilty of featuring epic shots in the trailer and not featuring them in the movie,Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyis a major contender. Despite the multiple reshoots, it’s still one of the best films in the franchise, but to the disappointment of the fans, manyiconic moments never made it into the final cutof the movie, including the shot of Jyn from behind, which suggests she’s about to face off against a TIE Fighter alone.
15 Most Exciting Star Wars Trailer Shots Not In The Movies
Star Wars trailers have always been amazing marketing tools, though several include exciting shots that were not part of the movie being advertised.
The TIE fighter is one of the most formidable aircraft in theStar Warsuniverse, and the prospect of a sole person facing off against it could make for a very iconic and cool fight scene with epic stuntwork. Felicity Jones' screen presence gives her character a very passionate and relatable flavor as a rebel fighting against impossible odds, so this scene would have been very fun to watch. The marketing of the movie promised many such epic confrontations, including a fight with an AT-AT on a beach. While viewers missed those scenes, the movie nevertheless won them over.
4"This does put a smile on my face" - Thanos
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Easily the most anticipated movie of the decade for MCU fans, theAvengers: Infinity Wartrailer was watched again and again by every eager viewer who couldn’t wait for the movie’s release. Naturally, people’s favorite moments from the trailer kept being talked about for months, and one of them included a line from Thanos that would get quoted by fans every time the movie and its trailer were discussed. Ultimately,the decision to cut Thanos' linebenefits the movie though.
The imposing frame of the villain who has a proper prospect of winning makes Thanos one of the MCU’s biggest villains ever. He is different because he clearly doesn’t revel in violence and seems to think of his work as something that must be done for the greater good. The brooding vibe that Josh Brolin brings to the character makes him uniquely terrifying. However, he admits in the trailer that"Fun isn’t something one considers when balancing the universe, but this does put a smile on my face.“This adds a layer to his character that’s missing from the movie.
3"Jesus Christ, that’s Jason Bourne”
Jason Bourne (2016)
Matt Damon has played many iconic characters over his illustrious career, but his most iconic is perhaps the spy Jason Bourne. He isn’t the usual action hero with impossible skills who does unbelievable stunts. Instead, he goes about his job patiently, using regular human abilities to dismantle a criminal organization from the inside out. The legacy sequel,Bourne: Legacy(2012) featuring Jeremy Renner, failed especially because Damon himself wasn’t present as Bourne.
So, Damon’s return to the franchise was highly anticipated and fans waited eagerly for the trailer forJason Bournewhen the movie was announced. It features a scene that became iconic and was used for memes for years after the movie was released. Unfortunately, the line is missing from the movie itself. Nonetheless, the shocking look of realization on the face of the poker-faced agent when he noticesBourne and exclaims “Jesus Christ, that’s Jason Bourne”, perfectly establishes the threat this sole agent poses to the organization. Viewers can’t help feeling that it belongs in the movie as well.
2Jillian Murray Falls Off The Roof
Black Christmas (2006)
Black Christmas(1974) was perhaps the first film to popularize the slasher genre, and it’s been remade twice, both remakes differing significantly from the original movie. The 2006 remake has a cult following even though fans of the original believe it ruined the perfection that the first movie established. The ‘74 movie is a scary and suspenseful masterpiece, while the ‘06 remake is goofy, but a gorefest. It’s much more of a traditional slasher.
In that vein, the original trailer for the movie features gruesome moments, including a shot of a woman falling off the roof, tangled in Christmas lights. Another terrifying visual is of a woman reaching her hand out from underneath the ice of a frozen lake.Both these shots are of actress Jillian Murray, who’s not in the movie at all. In fact, most of the footage for the movie is missing from the trailer. This is because the Weinsteins, whose company Miramax produced the movie, decided they’d shoot unrelated footage behind the director’s back and use it for the trailer.
1Hulk Fights Alongside the Avengers on Earth
Avengers: Infinity Warwas one of the most anticipated movies of 2018, and the creative and marketing teams worked overtime to ensure people felt the hype. This meant hiding plot details that would shock viewers when they finally watched the movie and creating excitement by featuring epic moments that would bring people back to watch the trailers over and over again. One of these iconic shots from the first trailer is in the closing moments of the trailer.It ends with a shot of all the Avengers, led by Captain America, running towards their foe,presumably Thanos and his army.
10 Biggest Tricks Marvel Movie Trailers Used To Lie To You
Marvel movie trailers are no stranger to using deception to lure in audiences to theaters, sometimes bending the truth and some times wholly lying.
Unsurprisingly, among those Avengers is Hulk. The trailer features shots of the Hulkbuster, which was introduced inAvengers: Age of Ultron(2015), as being a Tony Stark invention capable of facing off against Hulk. In the movie,Bruce Banner can’t transform and wears the armor, but the trailer hides this fact and leads everyone to believe that Hulk will participate in the final face-off against Thanos.
