Take the 5 1⁄2 minute 2022 smash hit “This is What I Mean” from Stormzy, one of the UK’s biggest hip-hop / grime artists, and remix it with some cinematic percussion and you have the soundtrack for the pulsating 2 1⁄2 minute trailer for the new secret agent action thriller Heart of Stone. In the opening moments the title character Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot) prepares for a mission with her agency known as “The Charter,” which would involve her protecting “The Heart”—her preparations are accompanied by gospel harmonies and a steady bass drum. We build to 0:23 when Stormzy’s vocals enter with the opening lines of his first verse “It’s a bigger operation. What’s with all the speculation?”

Today we explore the teaser trailer for a new Disney/Pixar animated feature Elio. In a classic trailer rug-pull, it opens with a serious man’s voiceover reminiscent of science and nature documentaries. We see planets, satellites, and then zoom in to Major Olga Solis (voiced by America Ferrera) working the overnight shift at a space research centre. The high register sparse piano here is run through delay effects, as though the piano notes are bouncing off distant stars. This music gives a feeling of momentum, suspense, and imminent action. The music builds, as strings, percussion, and choir are added and the anticipation is warranted because the space station’s computer monitors are being overrun by glitchy yet seemingly playful messages from alien lifeforms instructing Solis to ‘Bring us your Leader.’ The music fades out but suddenly at 0.26, as Soli is reading the message aloud, she is interrupted by an incoming video call from her son Elio.

With so much speculation nearly two years after the release of Squid Game’s first season in September 2021, Netflix has finally offered some details on the series’ 2024 follow-up. The trailer—technically, labelled a cast announcement, rather than a teaser trailer proper—nevertheless does offer an audiovisual preview with at least some footage of the season to come.

The trailer for the new Hunger Games film uses tried and tested action music devices. Begin with minimalist piano in the high register, add tension using synth textures and industrial-sounding risers, sprinkle in choir and brass, synchronize the cinematic percussion to the violence on screen, et voilà! But, beneath the surface, this trailer features several subtle devices that link the listener’s ears to the preceding films in this series. Let’s take a listen.

With higher-profile summer moviegoing fare such as Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City or Guardians of the Galaxy 3 having been released, our attention in terms of trailers looks forward to August—typically a relatively quiet month for theatrical releases. Nevertheless, there’s room for all forms of the proverbial summer blockbuster, not least of which being Meg 2. Following the profitable (if not a critical darling) The Meg (2018), its unabashed sequel promises to take itself with an equal lack of seriousness.

The ever-expanding Star Wars universe reveals a new chapter this August with the first season of Ahsoka on Disney+.

Not to be outdone by the steady beat of animated classics brought into live action (with the recent release of The Little Mermaid coming to mind), Disney’s summer fare takes a tonal left turn with a remake of Haunted Mansion. Originally a 2003 Eddie Murphy film and based on the Disney amusement park ride of the same name, it’s little surprise that the trailer positions the film as a kind of ride, never taking itself too seriously. With an all-star cast of Rosario Dawson, Case W. Dillon, LaKeith Stanfield (residents) and Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto, Dan Levy, and Tiffany Hadish (ghosts) to lead the way.

Renowned for meticulous set design, symmetrical shots, pastel colours and dry humour, Wes Anderson loves to weave a story that captures a very specific time and place (think of his memorable mountainside resort in The Grand Budapest Hotel). From the opening moments of the Asteroid City official trailer, we are transported to a small desert town in mid-1950s America.

Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and Will Ferrell, the Barbie movie has received an aptly creative trailer campaign with a teaser that parodies 2001: A Space Odyssey, shot-for-shot. For the main trailer, Barbie opts for a somewhat rare approach in trailer music: rather than take pre-existing music or even leverage a score by a composer, let alone use library music, the Barbie trailer debuts a new song by pop star Dua Lipa.

As a reboot from 2016’s live action-oriented Out of the Shadows—a box office winner, if not a critical darling (like the Transformers series), Paramount is clearly shifting gears with Ninja Mayhem in response to current trends in animation. Specifically, the film adopts an art style arguably popularized by Into the Spiderverse, with its low-frame rate, faux-claymation aesthetic. Coupled with a snippet of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick It?”, it’s clear from the outset that this iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is meant to lean on aural and visual charisma, drawing in younger and even its more 80s-vintage fanbase in alike.

Premiering in UK cinemas this week, Have You Got It Yet takes a closer look at the life and times of Syd Barrett, best known as one of the original members of Pink Floyd. As the story goes, Barrett was ousted from the band in 1968, as he was suspected to be experiencing mental illness and abusing psychedelic drugs.

An adaptation of David Grann’s 2017 book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, the film recounts the killing of several members of the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma over the discovery of oil on their land. Killers is, notably, the sixth feature film collaboration between Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese, with the most recent being The Wolf of Wall Street from 2013. Having received a nine-minute standing ovation at its Cannes world premiere, it suffices to say that this long-awaited collaborative follow-up promises to be well worth the wait.

The steady turn from summer blockbuster trailers to holiday release window fare continues with Warner Bros’ drop for the first trailer for Dune: Part Two this past week. With 2021’s first foray earning well over twice its budget, it’s certain to be a winner in the studio’s roster this year; moreover, unlike its predecessor, Part Two will enjoy an exclusivity window in theatres before presumably making its way to Warner’s streaming offering, to be rebranded as MAX.

As much as summer blockbusters are now around the corner—Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens this week—film trailers have already begun to focus on the all-important holiday season, surely in an effort to capitalize on the similarly sizeable summer theatre-going public. A key case in point would be Disney’s latest animated effort, a film that pays homage to the company’s heritage on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. In keeping with this, even the trailer for the film exhibits some stylistic borrowings from trailers of old—and to great effect.

Since its re-introduction to the hearts, minds, and ears of viewers in 1996, the Mission: Impossible theme has become a cultural touchstone for the public, and more than likely this generation’s most famous tune in the unusual 5/4 meter. Thus it helps ensure an air of suspense to any scene it graces. It would only make sense, then, that the teaser for Dead Reckoning (the seventh entry in the franchise, for those counting) would opt to build on this popular theme, while still offering something new. As such, the very possible mission here is to tread an admittedly thin line between playing on nostalgia and creating a legitimately new and different entry to the series.

As we inch into the summer blockbuster season, summer-bound trailers are starting to coincide with a first look at this holiday’s releases. Chief among these is undoubtedly The Marvels, the third and final release of 2023 in the fifth phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which as a franchise still shows little sign of waning public interest.

While perhaps difficult to believe, it has now been six years since we covered the original trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a game which would go on to win the coveted Game of the Year award and has accumulated over 29 million unit sales. Part of the reason for its success is undoubtedly its cinematic presentation, which is fairly standard for so-called “triple-A” titles on competing consoles, but still relatively rare for Nintendo IPs. (Case-in-point: The success of the television adaptation for famed PlayStation series The Last of Us, often relying on one-for-one recreations of its scenes.)

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a prequel in the Bridgerton universe that explores the queen’s relationship with King George at its beginning. A fast-paced, energetic score opens the trailer as we see Charlotte apprehensive and asserting boundaries around her arranged marriage with King George. The instrumentation (as we’ll hear later in the trailer) is congruent with the late 18th century setting, with a strong strings presence accompanied by epic percussion. A major key theme keeps things sprightly, while interest is retained through the unusual 5/4 rhythm (whereas most music keeps to a steadier three or four beats per measure). Notice also at 0:25 the tonal modulation just when the title card comes in touting the new series’ pedigree (… “who brought you Bridgerton)”).

The studio A24 has been on a tear lately, sweeping the Oscars and winning best director and best picture in the same year—having previously won best picture in 2017 for Moonlight. If the trailer for Beau Is Afraid in any indication, that streak of quality for art film fans everywhere appears poised to continue. Directed by Ari Aster and starring Joaquin Phoenix, the titular character faces the harrowing task of facing his greatest fears after the sudden death of his mother.

Since 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, Disney has been on a fairly consistent stint involving live action remakes of its most celebrated animated releases; in 2023, it’s now time for Peter Pan to receive such treatment.