Do you want to know who might be starring, cameoing or in some way appearing in the upcoming sequel to The Devil Wears Prada? Well, you might not have a choice. Ever since filming on the Anne Hathaway/Meryl Streep reunion commenced in New York a few weeks ago, set photos and accompanying news items have become plentiful (don’t click that link if you don’t want to know the rumors about a major star). Of course, gossip pages breathlessly reporting casting rumors are not sanctioned by a movie studio, like a teaser, poster, trailer or announcement video. At the same time, the movie hype machine has been blurring the line between genuine marketing and tweet-grade micro-teases all summer long.
For example: is there a teaser trailer for next summer’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day? It’s the next Marvel movie after this July’s Fantastic Four reboot, and plenty of summer blockbusters-to-be have called their shots with a teaser a year in advance, so it would make sense to get a little something out there. A teaser is kinda-sorta what Sony posted a few weeks ago, only it was hyped up as a “suit reveal”, which seems like an attempt to redress a 20-second teaser in literal new clothes. It also seems like a backfire if the strategy involves anyone beyond the most diehard 5% of movie-watchers realizing or caring that Tom Holland walks up to the camera wearing a Spider-Man costume that is slightly different than the six other Spider-Man costumes he’s donned in other appearances. There is also a behind-the-scenes video of a movie that’s barely started filming. It recalls the absurdly lengthy “chair reveal” of cast members from Avengers: Doomsday parceled out over five hours, which is getting its own sequel soon. (Not everyone was announced, of course. Not least because the movie’s screenplay was not finished at the time of that announcement and filming commencement.)
