Ranking the Super Bowl LVII Trailers

Super Bowl LVII was a thrilling game that came down to the absolute wire as the Kansas Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. The theme of the NFL post-season, much like 2022, was last-minute dramatics and this game was no different as Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts dueled to the final seconds and proved they’re both the best quarterbacks in the game.

The game’s experience was bolstered by two things — Rihanna’s commanding performance (while pregnant) and the sheer number of film trailers that dropped. After a years of movie-going being a weird and ever-changing experience, it feels nice to see this amount drop. If there were frustrations surround the Super Bowl LVII trailers, it was there was a lot of “Hey, go to YouTube to watch a longer cut.” With such a great, competitive game happening you didn’t want to bail and go to YouTube. Also, the sheer amount of trailers that dropped before the game … was a choice. I don’t get it, but then again I’m a journalist and not a marketing executive.

Also, it was odd that there were no trailers for streaming shows outside of Poker Face — which is an excellent show. Go watch it.

So let’s dive into it, the ranking of the Super Bowl LVII trailers…

12. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Release Date: June 9, 2023
Starring: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Velez, Tobe Nwigwe
Direct by: Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II)
Thoughts: A mid trailer from a fairly mid franchise.

11. 65
Release Date: March 10, 2023
Starring: Adam Driver, Arianna Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman, Nika King
Directed by: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (Nightlight)
Thoughts: This is obviously just a teaser, but it just doesn’t hit. Adam Driver is always good, but this has hot mess written all over it. While it’s being touted as from the creators of A Quiet Place, this one feels like those Alien prequels from a few years ago —  a solid concept but there’s a high quotient for an over-stuffed plot and the film taking itself way too seriously. This feels like a streaming viewing more than must-see in theaters.

10. Cocaine Bear
Release Date: February 24, 2023
Starring: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ray Liotta, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Kristofer Hivju, Keri Russell, Alden Ehreinreich, Margo Martindale, Matthew Rhys.
Directed by: Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect)
Thoughts: This is going to go one of two ways — either absolutely hilarious or it’s going beat this novel idea to death. The trailer suggests the latter and that’s not a good thing.

9. Air
Release Date: April 5, 2023
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Tucker, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina,
Direct by: Ben Affleck (Argo)
Thoughts: Given this is directed by Ben Affleck and has an all-star cast makes this less-than-exciting premise somewhat intriguing. Somewhat is the key word though.

8. Fast X
Release Date: May 19, 2023
Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Momoa, Charlize Theron, John Cena, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Paul Walker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Jason Statham, Sung Kang, Scott Eastwood, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno.
Directed by: Louis Lettier (The Incredible Hulk)
Thoughts: Who isn’t in this film? Literally, Paul Walker is in it. These films just keeping getting more ridiculous, but yet we never get tired of them do we?

7. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Release Date: March 31, 2023
Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant.
Directed by: Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley (Game Night)
Thoughts: This trailer is infinitely better than the first, ho-hum trailer that premiered over the holidays. High fantasy has not had the best run in theaters or on TV over the past few years, however this trailer gives some hope that this adaptation could at best be a fun breezy romp. Allowing Justice Smith to be the center of the trailer (and comedy) was the right move here.

6. Creed 3
Release Date: March 3, 2023
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Phylicia Rashad, Canelo Alvarez
Directed by: Michael B. Jordan
Thoughts: This teaser was the final bit of hype for a film that has delivered some incredible trailers. Jordan and Majors are going to absolutely kill in this film — the big question here is does this film either to Oscar gold?

5. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Release Date: June 30, 2023
Starring: Harrison Ford, Madds Mikkelsen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Thomas Krestchman, Toby Jones, John Rhys Davies.
Direct by: James Mangold (Logan)
Thoughts: Fans of the Indy franchise already bought a ticket when the first trailer dropped in December. Yet, this was a nice reminder of what’s coming in 2023 and if you’re not excited for it at this point we have to wonder if Kali Ma took your heart.

4. Strays
Release Date: June 9, 2023
Starring: (voices of) Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Will Forte, Isla Fisher, Tinashe Kajese
Direct by: Josh Greenbaum (Barb & Star Go to Vista del Mar)
Thoughts: This should not work at all. We’ve seen this concept done to death, however Will Ferrell’s sincere insanity really works well here and elevates this from “just another adult take on a kids movie” into something way more interesting.

3. Scream IV
Release Date: March 10, 2023
Starring: Courtney Cox, Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrerra, Hayden Panettiere, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Dermot Mulroney, Samara Weaving, Tony Revolori.
Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (Scream)
Thoughts: Big confession time here — never have seen a single, solitary Scream film. This trailer, however, might change my mind to dive into this franchise. We’ve seen franchises like Jason go to Manhattan and it stink on ice. Scream VI, however, feels more violent, visceral and high stakes than a film in its sixth installment ever does (unless it’s James Bond).

2. The Flash
Release Date: June 16, 2023
Starring: Ezra Miller, Ron Livingston, Michael Keaton, Kiersey Clemmons.
Directed by: Andy Muschietti (Stephen King’s It)
Thoughts: This trailer proves this movie does exist and will actually come out. For all the tumult and turmoil around the production of this film, this trailer actually looks really good. Loved seeing both Keaton and Affleck as Batman and how Barry’s actions cause a butterfly effect, not unlike in Spider-man: No Way Home. However, there’s the Ezra Miller of it all. The accusations against him are just hard to look past and the dude is the lead in this film and is all over this trailer. Can’t say in good conscious I’ll be heading to theaters to see this.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3
Release Date: May 5, 2023
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Pom Klementieff, Will Poulter, Maria Bakalova, Chukwudi Iwuji
Directed by: James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special)
Thoughts: If you listened to the Bill vs. The MCU podcast, you’ll know that Guardians is my favorite franchise within the MCU. We originally saw a teaser for the trailer (which was way different than the video below) right before the game started, and then you had to head to YouTube to check this one out. The fun and humor that was missing from the initial trailer (which had a much more foreboding tone) was highly apparent here, particularly at the end with Nebula, Quill and Gamora. They already sold me a ticket, but this trailer has me absolutely amped for May 5.