Avengers: Infinity War is one of the most secretive films of all time, breaking from Marvel tradition and teasing that something serious will go down. Traditionally, a modern movie rolls out in one of two ways; either they show us every single sequence we wish they kept for the full-length experience, or close to nothing at all. Most fans would tell you that erring on the side of secrecy is always a better move, and in the case of Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War it looks like they’re paying attention.

So far, aside from a handful of trailers, little has been revealed, with what has been appearing to be carefully chosen. And it’s going to stay that way. There will be no preview screenings until the premiere, which is on the week of release. The fan events that will get a glimpse of Infinity War early will only get to see select footage. Even the actors starring in the film have admitted that they were only given partial scripts. To cap it off, Marvel has pushed back the release date, dropping this Avengers in the States and overseas simultaneously.

This entire campaign sets a different tone to what we’re used to. Marvel hasn’t been known to move under cloak and dagger very often, and if anything has only been getting more audacious in recent years. The two movies directly before Avengers: Infinity War - Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther - had very early press screenings, premieres, and embargo lifts; Black Panther premiered on January 29 and its review embargo lifted on February 6, almost two weeks ahead of its domestic release. In contrast, Avengers: Infinity War will have its premiere on April 23, with press screenings following. The review embargo will lift on the 24th and the movie will be in theaters literally three days after.

The biggest visible difference between Avengers: Infinity War and everything that’s come before is - as the Russos themselves warned - is spoilers. Each Marvel movie has surprises, sure, but the “culmination of the MCU” offers something more. Fans have been speculating since Avengers: Age of Ultron that one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes would bite the dust, but each time the team has walked away just fine (except for Quicksilver). This time, though, something bad will go down: an Avenger will (surely) die. And with Avengers 4 likely building straight off a shocking end, there’s presumably a lot more besides.

The handling of this film is, without a doubt, in the realm of Star Wars. Since that franchise returned to the big screen, Disney has been very tight on information pre-release, ostensibly to maintain surprises like the deaths of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. The roll-out is almost the same for Infinity War; it’s more Lucasfilm strategy than Marvel, so don’t expect many spoiler-heavy TV spots.

But while it’s unprecedented for Marvel, it’s hardly surprising. No film franchise has ever had a story-capper of this scale before. Let’s just hope, for all the secrecy, Avengers: Infinity War lives up to the hype

Next: Where Is The Soul Stone? We Round Up The Best Avengers: Infinity War Theories

  • Avengers: Infinity War Release Date: 2018-04-27 captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08 Ant-Man 2 Release Date: 2018-07-06 spider-man homecoming 2 Release Date: 2019-07-02 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26