The first Infinity War trailer ended with this goosebump-inducing moment. Captain America, Hulk, the Winter Solider, Black Widow, Black Panther, War Machine and Okoye are charging toward Thanos. Only problem, it’s not in the movie.
Avengers: Infinity War’ s trailers promised an apocalyptic, large-scale war between Earth’s mightiest superheroes and the mad titan, Thanos.
It mostly delivered, but one powerful scene from an early trailer Rickrolled just about everyone.
[ Warning: The following contains spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War .]
The first Infinity War trailer ended with this goosebump-inducing moment. Captain America, the Winter Solider, Black Widow, Black Panther, War Machine and Okoye are charging toward Thanos. The Hulk runs just behind them bringing up the rear. It’s one of the most memorable moments from the trailer, and was even used as a thumbnail for the video on Marvel’s YouTube page.
Although Hulk briefly appears in Infinity War at the very beginning, this scene never comes to pass.
Hulk is shipped to earth following his devastating defeat at the hands of Thanos on the Asgardian ship that carried him away at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, returning him to Bruce Banner’s original form. The next time Banner comes face-to-face with Thanos, he learns he can no longer transform into the Hulk, no matter how hard he tries.
Hulk’s inability to take over Bruce Banner’s body when most needed is a big part of Banner’s arc in the film. It’s a continuation of a storyline started in Ragnarok, one of the last movies Marvel released ahead of Infinity War. Hulk’s refusal to transform is an arc that’s expected to continue in Avengers 4, too, completing the three-movie story actor Mark Ruffalo previously teased.
“The rules don’t apply anymore,” Ruffalo told IGN. “That’s what’s so confounding to Banner and frightening. That’s kind of the exciting progression of the Banner/Hulk relationship moving forward. The anger is no longer the only reason that he turns into the Hulk. So now we have this other thing going on between them that will carry out through the next two movies. This is the beginning of a three-movie arc.”
Infinity War manages to turn Banner’s inability to become a raging green monster into its own interesting story. Banner is thrown into the Hulkbuster armor Tony Stark designed in Avengers: Age of Ultron, giving him a chance to help his friends instead of being a total waste.
The Hulk’s magnificent run through Wakanda isn’t the only scene featured in a trailer that didn’t make the final cut. A scene where Thor brandishes his new Stormbreaker axe, calling upon lightning while standing on the dwarf planet, also isn’t in the film. That isn’t too surprising, though. Studios often include footage in trailers that don’t make it past the marketing stage, getting left behind on the cutting room floor.
Still, it would have been pretty great to see the Hulk running alongside his fellow Avengers and superheroes through the Wakandan forests as they prepare for the battle of their lives against Thanos. Oh well, maybe next time.
Avengers: Infinity War is now playing in theaters.
