Captain America: Brave New World has received middling reviews throughout its theatrical run but is gradually making a marginal profit as the weeks go by. Sam Wilson’s (Anthony Mackie) first outing as Captain America is a definitive turning point for the character, but the marketing campaign has put Red Hulk (Harrison Ford) at center stage.
Brave New World isn’t a perfect film by any means. Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford both put in solid performances, but it’s not enough to save the film’s poorly paced plot and sub-par action, especially when The Winter Soldier set the bar so high. One of the film’s main criticisms is that the plot is rather predictable, but that isn’t entirely the script’s fault.
‘Brave New World’s’ Marketing Made the Film Predictable

Anyone who’s seen the trailer or the poster knows Red Hulk is in the movie. Brave New World had a great opportunity to hide Red Hulk from its marketing campaign and save the reveal for theaters but opted to use him as a draw for audiences instead. Using Red Hulk in the trailers likely drew more interest from viewers, but revealing major characters undoubtedly hindered the viewing experience in theaters.
Brave New World was initially marketed as a story centered around Sam Wilson struggling to step out of Steve Rogers’ shadow, with a grounded tone like The Winter Soldier. Nevertheless, even the first teaser couldn’t resist a glimpse of the Red Hulk. Later trailers revealed much more of the Red Hulk and even The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), the film’s main villain. When Brave New World finally premiered, audiences expected a huge battle between Sam and the Red Hulk, which turned out to be a rather brief action sequence toward the film’s end. The trailers could have just shown a brief glimpse of Red Hulk but instead chose to show major moments from his fight scene against Cap. Anyone who has watched the trailers has already seen President Ross’ (Harrison Ford) transformation, the destruction of the White House, and the final showdown at the park.

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All hail the King!

Harrison Ford Was Enough of a Draw Without the Red Hulk

Custom Image by Zanda Rice

By revealing Red Hulk early in the promotional campaign, viewers spent the entire movie aware of President Ross’s fate, eagerly awaiting him to Hulk out. Had Marvel kept the reveal secret, it would have been a shocking twist in the film that surprised audiences with an unexpected match-up, especially given the disparity in power levels of the two main characters. Red Hulk was so heavily marketed that I was convinced he was a second-act villain, with the finale featuring an antagonist hidden from the trailers. It would have made more sense to put Harrison Ford at the forefront of the marketing without the Hulk reveal. Harrison Ford is a veteran of Hollywood’s globally recognized franchises, like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. His presence onscreen is enough of a draw for viewers without the Red Hulk.
Marvel Usually Do a Great Job Keeping Major Reveals Under Wraps

Previous Marvel trailers have done a great job of keeping big surprises under wraps until the film’s release. Captain America: Civil War revealed its big hero vs. hero battle and Spider-Man’s (Tom Holland) debut, but it mostly kept Baron Zemo’s (Daniel Bruhl) plot under wraps. The film subverts audience expectations during the finale, where Cap (Chris Evans), Bucky (Sebastian Stan), and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) team up to fight a group of Winter Soldiers, only to reveal that Zemo killed them all and organized a scenario that pitted the heroes against each other once again.
Marvel has even gone so far as to edit trailer footage to mislead the audience. Avengers: Infinity War famously edited the Hulk into the main trailer, hiding Bruce Banner’s (Mark Ruffalo) story. Whereas Spider-Man: No Way Home carefully edited out the other Spider-Men from shots to ensure their reveals happened in theaters. Nevertheless, when it came to Brave New World, Marvel felt it was essential to include Red Hulk in every piece of promotional material, leaving nothing to surprise the audience. Even The Leader was revealed in trailers and promotional posters, which was unnecessary given how much had already been unveiled.
Understandably, Marvel wants to promote their biggest draws, especially given Harrison Ford’s star power. However, the Red Hulk reveal is a symptom of the MCU’s diminishing returns in recent years. With many post-Endgame movies struggling to perform at the box office, Marvel doesn’t want to risk a bad opening weekend by keeping their heavy hitters under wraps. Given that Brave New World is gradually making a profit so far into its theatrical run, perhaps there is evidence that Red Hulk’s trailer reveals were warranted, but it undoubtedly hurt the viewing experience for those who enjoy unpredictable plot twists.