These Are The Movies We Could See Previewed During This Year's Super Bowl
There are less than two weeks to go until the Super Bowl LIII takes place but what movies should you expect to see receive the spotlight during the Big Game? You can find our full breakdown right here...
It's that time of year again. If you're a sports fan, then you're no doubt counting down the seconds to the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots going head to head but if you're a movie fan, you'll be there for the new TV spots and trailers (and if you're a fan of both...well, that's just greedy).
Over the next couple of weeks, the trades will start reporting on which studios have purchased airtime but nothing will be 100% confirmed until the Big Game takes place.
For now, though, we're taking a look at the movies which we think will and won't end up being featured during the commercial breaks. From superhero movies to animated features and any number of big blockbusters set both on Earth and in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, there are a lot of big releases coming in 2019 and a number of them will be shown off on February 3rd.
So, to take a look at our predictions and everything we know so far, hit the "View List" button!
Avengers: Endgame
Marvel Studios may be busy promoting Captain Marvel (we'll get to that later) but it's highly likely that Avengers: Endgame will also be given the spotlight during the Super Bowl.
Based on past experience, a TV spot is likely (even if it's mostly comprised of previously seen footage) and while that could be followed by a full-length trailer online, chances are Marvel Studios will hold off until Captain Marvel hits theaters before releasing that in order to build as much excitement as possible.
Unfortunately, with The Avengers set to assemble at this year's Academy Awards, Disney could decide to wait until then to premiere new footage from the highly anticipated sequel.
Captain Marvel
Marvel Studios rarely releases more than two trailers for a movie so I'm not expecting another extended preview of Captain Marvel to be released during this sporting event.
However, a TV spot (anywhere from 30 - 60 seconds in length) is pretty much guaranteed as showing the movie off to as big an audience as possible would be a smart move this close to release, especially as there's so much we've still not seen from this one.
With any luck, we'll see some new shots of Carol Danvers in action in her Binary form!
Star Wars Episode IX
It's a nice thought and certainly plausible but chances are Disney and Lucasfilm aren't bringing a first look at Star Wars Episode IX to the Super Bowl. Star Wars Celebration is in April and a title reveal there (alongside the debut of a teaser which would then play in front of Avengers: Endgame) seems like a far more likely option when you think about it.
On the other hand, we could get all of that during the Super Bowl with a BTS reel shown at Celebration but the risk there is that Star Wars will get lost in the shuffle during a night with a lot of first looks.
More From Disney
As great as it would be to see more from The Lion King, chances are Disney will want to keep the focus on Dumbo as that's their first live-action remake of 2019 and it really doesn't feel like there's that much excitement surrounding it as of right now.
Aladdin also seems somewhat unlikely, especially if the studio didn't have a first proper look at Will Smith's Genie ready to go for that Entertainment Weekly cover story last month.
On the plus side, we'll almost certainly get some new footage from Toy Story 4 as there have been rumblings of a new trailer coming within the next month for weeks now. Given the age range of people watching the Super Bowl and the number of people who love the franchise, this would be a smart place to premiere that.
Oh, and as for Frozen...a teaser is long overdue at this stage so don't be surprised if we see something.
Shazam!
Last night, Warner Bros. shared a new TV spot for Shazam! and a trailer is rumoured to be with us in a matter of weeks. The studio could hold off and share that during the Super Bowl but I think it's more likely that the full-length preview will be online this month before another new spot is shared during the game.
The studio is riding high after the success of Aquaman but Shazam! is an unknown property to the masses and the goofy premise is one Warner Bros. really needs to sell to moviegoers if they're expecting them to buy into it in April. With any luck, the footage shown here will be epic enough to convince them.
Joker
This is a hard one to predict. Joker finished shooting quite some time ago and a trailer could be ready to go theoretically speaking but it still seems too soon to start pushing a movie that's not released until October, especially at the Super Bowl.
It's not impossible, of course, but I don't think we'll see anything from this standalone origin story for the Clown Prince of Crime until Shazam! hits theaters as that would arguably be the smartest place for Warner Bros. to start promoting this one.
Detective Pikachu
Another movie that we've been hearing could get a new trailer sometime in January, I definitely think that Legendary Pictures is going to choose to the Super Bowl to reveal a fresh look at the first-ever live-action Pokemon adventure. After all, the first sneak peek received an overwhelmingly positive response and with May rapidly approaching, the studio will want to capitalise on that next month.
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters
The latest trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters definitely got fans talking and while the studio can certainly afford to hold off on promoting it, showcasing what an action-packed epic this is going to be would be a smart move, especially if they're looking to rebound from the tepid response to Godzilla.
I wouldn't expect a huge amount of new footage but a money shot of Godzilla in action would work!
After all, the monster vs. monster action in this sequel is what's going to draw people to theaters and showing that off to as large an audience as possible will ensure that people remember it.
IT: Chapter 2
The first IT movie vastly exceeded expectations both critically and commercially, so don't expect Warner Bros. to shy away from spending money on hyping up the sequel as they know audiences will flock to find out how exactly this story wraps up and to see that impressive cast take on the sinister Pennywise the Clown.
In terms of what we'll see from the sequel, just some shots of the adult actors and the nightmare-inducing Stephen King creation could be enough to get conversations about the follow-up started. Pet Semetary is coming in April so that could also receive a spot but based on how it's been marketed thus far, that would be a shock.
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Sony Pictures released two trailers for Spider-Man: Far From Home last week but it's surely far too soon for another sneak peek, right? Yes and no. While Marvel Studios would no doubt prefer that the studio hold off on showing any more from this one until after Avengers: Endgame is released, the Super Bowl is a prime spot to promote a huge summer blockbuster.
Honestly, though, there's no real need to spend money on hyping the sequel so soon after the trailers were released and if we do end up seeing anything from this one, I would imagine that it will be a shortened version of one of those, possibly with some very brief new snippets of footage. It just seems too soon for Sony to show its hand and the wrong move for the MCU.
Men In Black: International
Sony is clearly hopeful that the team of Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson can successful breathe new life into this stale franchise so they'll almost certainly give Men in Black: International some love at the Super Bowl.
The first trailer didn't massively impress but we've since seen it receive a cover story in Entertainment Weekly, so Sony no doubt has more it would like to show off from the reboot/sequel. With that in mind, while I think we still have some time to wait for a full-length trailer, a new sneak peek during the game could be a smart way to start generating excitment.
Hellboy
The first trailer for the Hellboy received an extremely mixed response; looking like a cross between Underworld and R.I.P.D., it's hard to imagine it being a hit but Lionsgate no doubt have high hopes for it.
With that in mind, a Super Bowl TV spot seems highly likely and that will hopefully go some way in reassuring worried fans that this is more than just a goofy comic book movie which isn't that much different to what's come before (except, you know, worse).
Alita: Battle Angel
After being pushed back from last month to February in order to get out of the way of a number of big releases, Fox will almost certainly want to give Alita: Battle Angel one last push and this is the perfect place to do that. The James Cameron produced, Robert Rodriguez directed release may struggle to find an audience so getting as many eyes on it as possible at this point is absolutely vital.
Dark Phoenix
Seeing as Dark Phoenix is set to be released in June, you'd think that Fox would be doing everything it could to push what will almost certainly be the studio's final X-Men movie.
However, Simon Kinberg has already gone way over budget and that could put the studio off from promoting a film that doesn't have a lot of excitement surrounding it and that Disney would probably prefer them not to talk too much about when they're planning to reboot the franchise.
As a result, I wouldn't be surprised if they give the game a miss and as for The New Mutants, there's no way we'll see anything from that seeing as reshoots still haven't happened.
And The Rest...
Those are the big ones but what else could we get a look at during this year's Super Bowl?
Animated movies like The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World will almost certainly make an appearance, while releases we don't cover here on CBM like Rocketman and What Men Want are also bound to be featured.
Finally, I'd be shocked if action movies such as Hobbs & Shaw and John Wick Chapter Three: Parabellum don't get a TV spot too.
As always, it's not an exact science and we can always be surprised but at least some of the movies listed here will almost certainly receive TV spots during the Big Game. Stay tuned for updates as we have them and share your thoughts in the usual place!