And there came a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes were united against a common threat...
Marvel has officially released the first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, the third film in the Avengers film series directed by Anthony & Joe Russo.
The two-minute, 25-second trailer opens with a shot of what appears to be an alien world with Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) sorrowfully clutching something in his hands. We see fleeting images of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) finding Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) after he had crashed through the roof of the Sanctum Sanctorum, followed by The Vision (Paul Bettany) looking more human (with hair!) as he caresses the face of the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).
A series of connecting voiceovers plays over these images from various cast members...
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson): "There was an idea..."
Iron Man: "...to bring together a group of remarkable people..."
The Vision: "...to see if we could become something more..."
Thor (Chris Hemsworth): "...so when they needed us, we could fight the battles..."
Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) "...that they never could."
As we see Tony join Bruce, Doctor Strange and Wong, we hear the voice of Thanos (Josh Brolin) say "In time, you will know what it's like to lose...to feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail all the same."
The hairs on the arm of Peter Parker (Tom Holland) stand up as he senses something ominous with the large hoop-shaped spacecraft hovering near the Chrysler Building.
"Dread it...run from it..." continues Thanos, "...destiny still arrives."
We see Loki (Tom Hiddleston) holding up the Tesseract he reclaimed in Thor: Ragnarok as Thanos arrives. This is followed by fleeting images of Spider-Man wearing the Iron Spider suit that Tony Stark gave him in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
"Evacuate the city," begins Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), "engage our defenses, and get this man a shield." Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) steps into view, now sporting a full beard under his possible Nomad identity from the comics. The Hulkbuster Iron Man armor from Avengers: Age of Ultron makes a return, while Black Widow now has short blond hair instead of her traditional red.
"Fun isn't something one considers while balancing the universe," remarks Thanos as he takes the Mind Stone from the Vision's forehead for his Infinity Gauntlet, "but this does put a smile on my face."
An impressive shot follows of Steve, Black Panther, Okoye (Danai Gurira), the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Black Widow, and the Hulk leading a charge of the Wakandan army into battle.
In the final scene, we see a breathless, one-eyed Thor asking "Who the Hel are you guys?" The camera turns and we see none other than the Guardians of the Galaxy, with Mantis waving hello.
If you'd to check out the trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official Marvel Entertainment account on YouTube...
Avengers: Infinity War is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 4, 2018.