Trailers are a necessary evil in the world of cinema. They were traditionally more significant than they might be now, but marketing remains important, and certain trailers can still generate buzz in the internet age. If a trailer doesn’t reveal too much, it’s probably not evil at all and is just a neutral element (take it or leave it; watch it or don’t watch it), but if too much is revealed, it becomes annoying every time.
Below is a focus on sci-fi movie trailers that showed a little too much, whether it be some kind of reveal or even just a very memorable shot that’s hard to forget about – and anticipate – once it comes time to watch the movie. To the credit of these trailers, though, none are as bad as the particularly infamous original trailer for The Godfather (1972), which is just a slideshow of images from almost every single scene in the movie. It’s not sci-fi, so it’s not here, but it really does have to be seen to be believed (don’t watch it if you’re one of the three people on the planet who haven’t seen The Godfather yet, though).
8
‘Project Hail Mary’ (2026)
The trailers for Project Hail Mary don’t ruin everything, but the mystery angle of the film is somewhat undermined if you’ve seen the promotional material. You’d think the basic premise and star power would be interesting enough. There’s a potentially planet-ending threat, a mission into space to save the world, and only one person on board that spaceship (played by Ryan Gosling, who’s one of the bigger stars at the moment, even if actors generally aren’t as bankable alone as they might’ve been in decades past).
There are some interesting aspects regarding why he ended up on the ship depicted in the trailers, and then the fact that an alien life form plays a huge role in the narrative is also revealed. The character of Rocky is shown in the second and third trailers, so while hinting at extra-terrestrial life is one thing, making clear the appearance and eventual dynamic between the alien life form and the main character is another. Project Hail Mary is still a good and enjoyable movie if you’ve seen the trailers, but it’s probably an even better viewing experience if you haven’t.
7
‘Blade Runner 2049’ (2017)
Oh hey, it’s another sci-fi movie starring Ryan Gosling that had too many details revealed in its trailer. It’s Blade Runner 2049, and while revealing events from a movie’s second half isn’t instantly unforgivable in a trailer, it becomes problematic when something that happens later is treated as a reveal by the film itself without any big wow moment since you’ve already seen what happens.
It’s Harrison Ford showing up, to put it bluntly. While he was central in Blade Runner (1982), so it makes sense for him to appear in some capacity in the sequel, the movie really holds off on confirming his presence unless you’re already aware thanks to the trailer. It would be like if the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailers had shown other Spider-Men appearing. People were expecting that too, but it was still nice not being completely sure until opening night (which led to genuine excitement when it happened).
6
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017)
If you have Hulk in your movie, you’re probably going to want to show Hulk in your trailer. By that logic, you might wonder why Thor: Ragnarok belongs here. It’s more about how Hulk is introduced in the film itself since it’s done as a surprise reveal (similar to what happens with Blade Runner 2049, explaining what happened to him after he left Earth at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
If you somehow didn’t see any trailers or posters for Thor: Ragnarok, it would feel like a cool surprise because that’s how it’s executed in the film itself. The trailers also reveal too much regarding other parts of the movie, including Mjölnir getting destroyed, which is a shame when the film aims to be surprising and somewhat different from most Marvel Cinematic Universe entries before it.
5
‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (2016)
A significant death scene occurs in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which isn’t shown in trailers but felt like everything else was fair game to spoil. A trailer will always show the fight promised in its title even if much of it doesn’t happen until near the end of the movie. “Dawn of Justice” hints that this conflict won’t last and that Justice League will soon be formed properly.
Having Wonder Woman at all might’ve been nice not knowing about beforehand even if she was always going to appear once Justice League was formed. It’s clear she teams up with both title characters near the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and trailers also make apparent who Lex Luthor ultimately uses against superheroes: Doomsday (again, it would’ve been nice not knowing he’d feature prominently during the film’s climax).
4
‘Predator’ (1987)
Image via  ;20th Century Fox
If they had truly wanted to keep things under wraps,Predator could’ve been marketed without revealing that its villain was a deadly hunter from outer space. You know aliens will be involved right from the start so it’s fair game for trailers to lay out this whole alien aspect. However,you could’ve marketed this purely as an action/adventure/thriller movie similar toCommandoand then totally blindsided audiences likeCabin in the Woods after just a few scenes.
Instead,Predator ends up here because its theatrical trailer shows too much of its alien villain since its appearance isn’t fully revealed until quite late into the actual movie. Additionally, at least one significant death is more than hinted at while also revealing too much of its final showdown despite plenty of action earlier that could’ve kept proper spoilers minimal.
3
‘Prometheus’ (2012)
[nospin]Here you can find the original article about sci-fi movie trailers giving away too much information.
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