The two men who sued Universal Pictures for “misleading” them into believingAna de Armasappeared in the movieYesterdayhave settled their case with the studio.Peter Rosza and Conor Woulfe filed their lawsuit in 2022after claiming de Armas’ appearance in the trailer was false advertising, and had encouraged them to rent the movie under false pretenses. Although the suit appeared to be destined to fail when it was first reported on, it seems there was enough of a case to be answered that both parties filed a joint settlement in court today.
Although the pair were successful in one part of their claim, a further argument that everyone who had paid money to watch the movie should be considered as victims of the deception did not convince the judge to completely side with the plaintiffs. This resulted in them being required to pay part of Universal’s legal costs. The full settlement details have not been disclosed at this time.
Are Misleading Trailers Really a Problem That Warrants Court Action?
The result of this lawsuit does potentially open the door for other disgruntled cinemagoers to try their luck when it comes to airing their disappointment at movies based on the promises of their trailers. Over the years, there have been many social media posts by fans taking umbrage at differences between what they expect after seeing marketing material and the final movie.
This has included complaints about the lack of Jared Leto’s Joker in 2016’sSuicide Squad, theremoval of Spider-Man references fromMorbius, and even the fact thatThe Batmandid not feature the usual gadgets, gizmos and “superhero” vibes of previous Batman movies. However, “misleading” trailers are not always accidental, and that means there is a huge grey area following today’s ruling.
Marvel Studios became known for misleading fans in order to prevent them working out everything about MCU movies before their release. This reached a peak with the trailer forAvengers: Infinity War, which infamously included a final shot of Marvel’s mightiest heroes all charging towards the camera. Of course, this shot never appeared in the final movie, as the ending saw many popular characters being “dusted” when Thanos snapped his fingers. Additionally,the trailer featured Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, who did not appear in the latter part of the movie at all. Despite the changes, there were no lawsuits leveled at Marvel Studios, and several future movies contained similar red herrings.
Avengers: Endgame Trailer Is Intentionally Misleading, Contains Footage Not in Movie
The latest Avengers: Endgame trailer may have told us even less than we thought based on new information from the Russo brothers.
Today’s ruling could put an end to such trickery being utilized in trailers going forward, no matter how well-intentioned the misdirection is. WithYesterday, it seems that the inclusion of de Armas in the trailer but not the movie was a step too far, and, unlike Marvel’s clever fakery for the good of audiences, this particular misdirection is something that should be avoided by studios in the future.
Yesterday– without Ana de Armas – can currently be streamed on Netflix and Apple TV+.
