Chapter 818: The Last Vin Diesel

A series of explosive scenes set to a track by the famous industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails pushed the adrenaline to the absolute limit.

Sitting in front of his computer, Rune Weber watched the trailer on his screen with mounting excitement.

The trailer opened with an explosion, followed by a dazzling montage of intense combat sequences. The six major superheroes made their appearances one after another, charging into the fray and fighting bravely against the enemy. Interspersed within the action were two slightly discordant interludes: "Captain America," asleep for nearly seventy years, first faced off against "Iron Man," before inexplicably "crossing swords" with Thor.

Furthermore, Rune Weber saw Loki casually hurl an unarmed "Iron Man" out a window one-handed, making him sweat for Stark.

The entire trailer reached its climax at the very end, where Rune Weber finally caught a glimpse of the mysterious, all-new "Hulk"!

Judging from the footage, this version of the "Hulk" retained the ferocious appearance shown in earlier posters and concept art. Even though it was just a fleeting flash, he believed this new design would not disappoint.

If there was any slight regret, it was that the trailer offered no answers regarding the highly rumored mysterious alien villains.

Regardless, across a brief 123 seconds, the first showing of The Avengers had concluded, but the countdown to its release had officially begun!

Even though the film wouldn't hit theaters until May and this was just a short teaser, Marvel Pictures soon made a high-profile announcement: the trailer for The Avengers had set a whole new series of records.

These hard numbers only drew even more attention to the film itself.

The first trailer for The Avengers was released via Instant Sharing on Thursday evening, North American time. Packed with highlights, the video racked up 34 million views in a single day—the highest figure ever recorded in world cinema history.

At the same time, the trailer shattered iTunes records. Total downloads surpassed 10 million within twenty-four hours, crushing the previous record of 7 million single-day downloads held by Transformers 3.

As time slowly marched toward May, Duke remained busy with the film's post-production. Meanwhile, Kevin Feige led the massive cast in frequent media appearances, using every trick in the book to promote The Avengers.

"As early as 2002, Duke had an in-depth conversation with me," Kevin Feige said during an exclusive interview with Empire magazine, doing everything he could to drum up public interest. "He told me the most critical aspect of shooting The Avengers was to let its plot stand independently as a main thread, ensuring audiences could understand it even without having seen other Marvel movies."

"Duke's genius lies in his ability to find a balance while utilizing such a massive amount of elements," he continued, "so the characterization wouldn't feel thin just because of the visual effects."

Aside from praising Duke, he also discussed the film itself.

"We want this movie to have gorgeous sets and unbelievable action sequences, but we don't want the dialogue and humor to be overshadowed by the spectacular visuals," Kevin Feige explained. "Tony Stark standing next to Steve Rogers, Tony's reaction upon seeing Thor, and Tony's expression when Nick Fury appears on his turf. Witnessing these scenes is without a doubt the most exciting thing of all."

Duke understood perfectly well how much marketing mattered for a film. On his way in and out of the Warner Studios lot, he also took the time to accept interviews from reporters.

"Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America don't look like they can coexist. But that is exactly what interested me and drove me to keep going," Duke told the reporters with full confidence. "They aren't on the same path, and they can't work together, but as the crisis gradually emerges, I think they'll find an opportunity to fight side by side."

"We have the ability to recruit the best production crew," he continued. "From the cast down to the technicians, they are all the best. Ultimately, this will create a movie with massive set pieces, a fantastic plot, and interesting characters. Audiences are going to thoroughly enjoy the viewing experience."

Kevin Feige, accompanying Duke, chimed in to hype him up directly.

"It's precisely because of Duke that we were able to complete The Avengers," he said. "He is brimming with talent. Not only did he serve as the director, but he also came up with a highly captivating story and personally penned the script."

The following day, Robert Downey Jr., who had come to Warner Studios for voice dubbing work, also accepted interviews from the press.

"Aside from casting, the greatest thing Marvel Company did was choose the right director," Downey remarked. "The scriptwriting for The Avengers required extreme rigor. It is a highly complex film with eight main characters, all of whom need their own backstories. Everyone needs screen time, and everyone needs to share the spotlight."

But this wasn't enough. In the week that followed, Duke found time to join Kevin Feige for an exclusive video interview with Instant Sharing. The interview was pinned to the site's recommendation banner, and within just two days, its views and shares exceeded 5 million and 500,000, respectively.

"While writing the script, I had the chance to spend time with all the actors, so they knew my creation of these characters was well-founded," Duke spoke eloquently in the video when reporters asked about the film. "As filming progressed step by step, I would tell the cast, 'I have some ideas, and I want you to play it like this. Is there anything you specifically don't want? Or what traits do you hope this character has?'"

"Every actor shared their thoughts, and the script is like something built around those opinions, which also helped me nail down the style of the entire movie," he added. "My philosophy for approaching this film was that while I always know exactly what I want, if you tell me what you want, we can probably achieve both at the same time."

Duke then emphasized Marvel's contributions to the production.

"Marvel Company had a clear vision for the script and the structure, which was fantastic for me because it gave me a foundation for shooting the film," he explained. "When I'm filming, my only interest is in how to achieve what they are looking for."

In promotional interviews like this, the things spoken were naturally a mix of truth and falsehood.

"You have to design and produce these massive set pieces yourself to match the framework of the whole film," Duke said. "I don't think you can just casually insert random scenes into the movie. I love designing action sequences, and I love doing them in meticulous detail. The entire film is about introducing these characters and explaining why they can't coexist—just how hard it is for them to get along, and how they ultimately save themselves."

In the later portion of the video, it was Kevin Feige's turn to speak, highlighting the role of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"In previous Marvel movies, S.H.I.E.L.D. has always been an agency hidden in the shadows," Feige said. "They merely pop out from time to time, offer a little advice, and then retreat back into the darkness. But in this film, you will observe the entire world through the perspective of S.H.I.E.L.D. Audiences will witness for the first time the resources and equipment at this massive organization's disposal, and see exactly how they carry out their mission to safeguard global security."

Facing the camera lens, Kevin Feige also underscored the difficulties of the production process.

"Handling character relationships is one of the biggest challenges we faced while filming," he noted. "There are eight major characters in this movie, four of whom already helm their own solo franchises. With so many characters and worlds colliding, making the story and script feel grounded in reality was a critical issue for the entire team."

He then unhesitatingly morphed into a complete "Duke fanboy."

"The script Duke wrote is the very foundation that allowed this film to exist," Feige gushed. "It allows these distinctly unique characters to interact. He crafted many impressive stunt sequences, and the interplay between the superheroes is something that will deeply resonate with the audience. Sometimes they agree with each other, and other times they are entirely at odds."

After the video spread far and wide, Marvel Pictures released the second trailer. To no one's surprise, the second trailer's online views also easily smashed past the 30 million mark within twenty-four hours.

With a new Summer Season fast approaching, The Avengers stirred up an unparalleled level of buzz. Its influence extended far beyond the film itself, gradually evolving into a trending social phenomenon.

Such an overwhelming marketing blitz undoubtedly laid a solid foundation for the release of The Avengers, a situation that both Marvel Pictures and Warner Brothers were more than happy to see.

However, the way The Avengers completely overshadowed every other film in marketing was bound to affect the other releases opening at the start of the Summer Season—especially Fast and Furious 5, which was scheduled to hit theaters the weekend right after The Avengers.

For the production of this film, David Ellison's Sky Film Studio had thrown down a staggering 180 million dollars, with an allocated marketing budget reaching a hefty 150 million. The movie's early promotions had been ongoing, but the media was completely blanketed in news about The Avengers. Moviegoers were solely focused on discussing the team-up of the superheroes, and despite the massive sums poured into its marketing, Fast and Furious 5 seemed to have barely made a splash.

This left David Ellison deeply frustrated, though he clearly recognized that his own movie had been thoroughly outclassed on the promotional front. When he further considered the sheer chasm in skill between the director of Fast and Furious 5, Justin Lin, and Duke Rosenberg, he could practically foresee the tragic outcome following the film's release.

Had it been any other person or company, they would have inevitably rescheduled the release date. But David Ellison was fiercely stubborn and had locked in his plans long ago. Now, right at the crucial juncture when the film most needed to draw eyeballs before release, he decided to stop hesitating.

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office, David Ellison gazed off into the distance, as if trying to spot something on the horizon.

Right in the direction Ellison was facing, near the Southern Slope of Beverly Hills, Vin Diesel walked out of his home and climbed into a red Porsche.