Thappad, Bhoot: Part One, Black Widow, Mulan, Fast & Furious 9: a compilation of all trailers released this week

The 2020 Super Bowl is officially over, but there is still plenty of entertainment to look forward to in the coming weeks — and the commercial trailer spots would not let viewers forget it. With eye-popping musical artistry from Jennifer Lopez and Shakira during half-time to film studios treating cinegoers with a glimpse of their upcoming projects, Sunday featured no shortage of intriguing trailers from films like Black Widow, Mulan, and more.

From Bollywood’s slate, Anubhav Sinha brings a social drama with Thappad, and Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions steps into a new territory with their maiden horror project, Bhoot: The Haunted Ship.

Here is a compilation of all trailers, released this week, with genres ranging from social drama, horror to action.

Bollywood

Thappad

Taapsee Pannu and director Anubhav Sinha’s upcoming drama  Thappad  seems to investigate the nitty-gritties of systematic oppression in even a “seemingly normal” marriage. The film follows how Pannu’s happy-go-lucky married woman undergoes massive transformation after a humiliating incident.

Her stand to file a divorce petition opens a can of worms where Pannu’s friends and family members start questioning her intent. Friends advise her to give her husband “another chance,” her husband tells her “shit happens.” While her mother (Ratna Pathak Shah) gasps at the thought of having a divorcee daughter, her mother-in-law (Tanvi Azmi) asks her to “let it go” since women have to learn how to live with pain.

Release date: 28 February

Bhoot: The Haunted Ship

The trailer of Bhoot: The Haunted Ship  introduces Vicky Kaushal’s character as a surveying officer Prithvi, who is assigned to look into the case of an abandoned ship which mysteriously landed at the shores of Mumbai. Unbeknownst to him, there are a bunch of horrors, including the ghost of a young girl, that haunt the ship, who have now begun to surface.

Throughout the clip, we witness the general tropes of horrors being used such as ghosts crawling backwards on walls, people opening doors to have the spirit lunge at them, squeaky dolls, and also, kids running across the halls.

Release date: 21 February

Hollywood

Mulan

Directed by Niki Caro, Mulan stars Crystal Liu as Mulan, a woman who disguises herself as a man to spare her elderly father from military service.

The trailer of Disney’s live-action remake of the 1998 film highlights some iconic moments as well as the new changes to the upcoming film. There is an elimination of songs (a welcoming change from studio’s general trope, in live-action remakes such as  The Lion King  and  Aladdin ), her talking dragon companion Mushu, and the addition of more female characters (a little sister for Mulan and a witch for the enemy). These alterations point to a different storyline from the original animated film.

Release date: 27 March

Black Widow

Black Widow Super Bowl game spot saw Natasha Romanoff’s revisit her dark past before she was an Avenger. “You don’t know everything about me,” Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow says in the 30-second clip. “The Avengers weren’t my first family.” While diving into the back story of her character, Marvel introduces her family figures, including Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff, and David Harbour as the Red Guardian.

Release date: 30 April

Fast and Furious 9

Justin Lin’s next chapter in the long-running saga of car theft and bank heists charts the rivalry between Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his brother, Jakob (John Cena). In Fast & Furious 9, Dominic is seen getting used to retired life with his wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), and their young son Brian (who is named after the late co-star Paul Walker’s character.)

The trailer introduces Jakob as “a master thief and an assassin,” who is tasked by the cyber-terrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron) to murder Dominic. The brothers face off with each other in the backdrop of a bustling London, complete with car chases and high-octane street fights.

Release date: 22 May

The Invisible Man

Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man remake follows a woman (Elisabeth Moss), running from an abusive relationship where her ex (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) fakes his death, and proceeds to terrorise her with a newfound power of invisibility. The film, a Universal-Blumhouse production, is based on the classic 1897 sci-fi novel by HG Wells, and has been adapted for both the big screen and television over the years.

Release date: 28 February

South Indian Movies 

Jaanu

Telugu film  Jaanu , starring Samantha Akkineni and Sharwanand, is the remake of Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha-starrer 2018 Tamil hit 96. The film features Jannu (Akkineni) and Ram (Sharwanand) as high school sweethearts who reminisce about their past at a school reunion. While Jaanu seems to have grown out of the puppy love, Ram tells her how he has harboured feelings for her for a long time.

Release date: 7 February