Andor

Andor

Andor’s trailer definitely diverges sonically from previous Star Wars fare; not only does it follow from the recently concluded Obi-Wan Kenobi series, but it also tells a story centring on much lesser-known characters. These factors probably contribute to a musical backdrop that almost necessarily deviates from the series’ classic musical themes. While the composer for the series is Nicholas Britell (who composed the much-lauded theme for Succession, among other things), epic music composer Rok Nardin takes the reins for the trailer, using “Quantum Field”, a piece yet to be published.

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe unfolds in its Phase Four plan to reset and introduce characters, surely none of these resets resonates so much as it does for the Black Panther franchise, which faces the untimely passing of its lead, Chadwick Boseman. In light of this, the trailer opens with a cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” (1974). The song acts in a sense as a direct bridge to the audience, in recognition of what everyone knows—the mantle of Black Panther must be passed in this film. It becomes as much, if not more, a tribute to Boseman as it prepares the viewer for the coming narrative.

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House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon

The trailer leverages two musical themes from the original show’s music, originally composed by Ramin Djawadi: the main theme and the House Targaryen theme. This is evident from the outset, with its distinctive rising semitones in its melodic arc as the most conspicuous aspect of the first forty seconds. The addition of epic percussion and a large choir to the theme reinforces the greater focus on the dragons—entirely apt, as a prequel that centers on the titular beasts and the Targaryens’ historical ties to them.

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Pinocchio

Pinocchio

The teaser trailer starts with an ambient tone, on a single note: for those who know it’s a trailer for Pinocchio, the use of “When You Wish Upon a Star” (originally by Cliff Edwards, 1939) is all but a given. The trick is when exactly to release that dose of nostalgia, and this trailer’s edit is suave in taking its time before unloading the goods. We can do a quick call back to the scene with the mechanical clocks at 0:16 (and note how the sound arrives before the image), as well as a little arpeggiated flourish from time to time, but otherwise the scene is simply awash in synth—Glow, composed by Richard Canavan of Audiomachine in collaboration with Harry Lightfoot (Top Gun: Maverick, Encanto, and others) effectively sets the scene.

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The Menu

The Menu

The trailer for The Menu is an exercise in precision. Directed by Mark Mylod and starring Ralph Fiennes (who’s starred in a wide filmography, from The Grand Budapest Hotel to the Harry Potter movies), the horror-inspired take on conceptual dining was bound to be different, and this trailer’s design follows suit.

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Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel

This trailer wastes no time in putting the music front and center, with The Weeknd’s recent (2019) hit “Blinding Lights” setting the tone: at eight seconds in, the first frame of action coincides with the downbeat of the drums, synched to the clicking of a pen. An instrumental version of the track serves to underpin a variety of dialogue. At 0:26 the music pauses for a punchline. As the music returns, some extra accent hits punctuate the scenes where Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani, as Kamala Khan) makes an appearance. A clock that appeared earlier in the trailer comes in at 0:33, where a ticking sound rises to the fore in the arrangement. For whatever reason, as we’ve noted before, ticking has become a go-to sonic element in the trailer’s musical arrangement; it could simply be for the sense of presence and vitality it suggests, or it could be that the pandemic has made us more conscious of passing time.

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Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

As we’ve noted fairly often in this blog, musical biopics have experienced considerable popularity in recent years; it stands to reason given this context that eventually, after perhaps the more obvious choices (such as Whitney Houston, Elvis, Queen, or Elton John), attention would turn to those a bit outside—the provocateurs. And among that crowd, there are vanishingly few who have commanded the limelight as consistently as Al Yankovic has.

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Jurassic World: Dominion

Jurassic World: Dominion

How far can one take two musical notes? The trailer for Jurassic World: Dominion seems determined to answer that question. The B-flat / A / B-flat motif has been a part of almost every film in the franchise since its 1993 debut, but usually the melody is harmonized in a way that emphasizes wonder. Not so for this trailer: it takes about seven seconds for a note in the lower register to indicate a much more dour, even sinister mood. The melody then veers into new territory around 0:15, moving upwards as epic percussion batters the senses.

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Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun: Maverick

For Tom Cruise, it’s not as much a reboot or sequel as it is a return: a startling thirty-six years have passed, yet Cruise shows no sign of slowing down. For the trailer, however, the star is a sound—namely, the sweeping whoosh of fighter planes. After a six-second micro-teaser, the trailer wastes little time (re)establishing the characters, partly to induce drama (“What the hell kind of mission is this?”, a pilot intones)—but the chatter is more of a set-up to the main attraction at 0:22. A jump cut to a precious few seconds of fighter plane action, with every turn of the plane accentuated by the sonic design, steals the show.

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Obi-Wan

Obi-Wan

Disney continues to use its streaming platform to expand on various corners of its vast intellectual property empire, and the latest television series in the Star Wars universe promises to answer a simple but intriguing question: just what exactly happened with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the thirty-odd years between Episodes III and IV?

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The Flight Attendant S2

The Flight Attendant S2

On the eve of the summer blockbuster campaign season, the pace nevertheless continues steadily for trailer drops for television series, whether on streaming or cable. Among them is what might be fairly put as Kaley Cuoco’s second act post-Big Bang Theory, The Flight Attendant. It’s a dramedy that put the actor in a new light in the first season and promises to extend that premise in the next one.

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Bullet Train

Bullet Train

With David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) presiding over directorial duties and Brad Pitt in the actor’s seat alongside Sandra Bullock, Brian Tyree Henry, Joey King, and Hiroyuki Sanada, Bullet Train looks to be equal parts action-packed and irreverent. Building on a heritage of train thrillers such as Silver Streak and Murder on the Orient Express, Bullet Train looks to extend the subgenre with a sardonic twist.

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The Bubble

The Bubble

Now that we are officially some two years into the pandemic, it makes sense that we might begin to see a film or two that fully reckon with COVID-19 in whatever way the studios best see fit. It’s a question that most are avoiding: do you acknowledge the pandemic’s existence in film? While most don’t, Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Trainwreck) evidently saw the opportunity for potential comedic gold.

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Moon Knight

Moon Knight

The next iteration of Marvel’s parade of short episodic series on Disney+ continues with a lesser-known property, Moon Knight. In it, Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) leads an otherwise unremarkable life as a gift shop employee but stumbles into a series of blackouts. He develops a dissociative identity disorder, believing he is also Marc Spector, a mercenary; a mystery involving the gods of Egypt ensues.

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The Catch-Up: Severance, Bel-Air, Marry Me, and Hatching

The Catch-Up: Severance, Bel-Air, Marry Me, and Hatching

Mid-winter isn’t usually the busiest period on the annual trailer release schedule, with holiday releases lingering and the potential summer blockbusters on standby. Trailers seems to take a back seat to the awards ceremonies for the prior year. However, there is nonetheless a fair amount still underway, thanks in part to the steady drip of new content for streaming services. Here’s our latest roundup of recent trailers that caught our ears.

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