Black Panther is getting a trailer tonight — but it already has a poster

Even though Black Panther doesn’t come out until next year, Marvel has seen fit to start building excitement by releasing a trailer during the NBA Finals.

Say what you will about Marvel Studios, there are a lot of valid criticisms to be had there. But this morning, the company showed why it still knows how to pull in millions upon millions with each of its movies. (Yes, even things like Doctor Strange.) Today’s lucky winner is Black Panther.

If you’ll recall, after Thor: Ragnarok comes in on a sea of Led Zeppelin, but before Avengers: Infinity War arrives presumably to blow our minds, Black Panther has a February release date. That’s not that far away, all things considered.

Ergo, Marvel dropped a poster this morning:

There is no indication that this is really an action movie. It is just Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, presumably sitting on the throne of Wakanda, since he is actually its king in the comics and lost his father during the events of Captain America: Civil War in the cinematic universe. He’s not taking a standard fighting pose. He doesn’t even have his Black Panther mask on — just the suit itself.

Instead, we can see his face. That seems to suggest that there will still be a lot of conflict as to which identity will reign: Black Panther’s or T’Challa’s?

But a simple poster on Twitter does not build quite as much hype. No, it’s time to read Marvel’s caption. That “game four”? Is Game 4 of the NBA Finals. You know, where the Golden State Warriors have a chance to sweep the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is usually not something we talk about when we talk about the NBA Finals? It’s airing on ABC — which Disney also owns — so it makes sense that Marvel has the opportunity to air its trailer then.

Next: RDJ praises Spider-Man: Homecoming

The question is: how many will tune in just for the trailer on such short notice?