The surprising lengths Fox went to prevent the new 'Planet of the Apes' sequel trailer from leaking
The INSIDER Summary:
• The "War for the Planet of the Apes" trailer debuted at Comic Con.
• Fox was so paranoid about the trailer leaking, they had intense security measures in place.
• As of today, there have been no leaks.
Fox showed off the first trailer for the next "Planet of the Apes" movie at New York Comic Con, but don't expect to find it anywhere online.
The studio debuted the trailer for next summer's "War for the Planet of the Apes" not once, but twice at a special event for the film Thursday October 6 and then again the following day at a panel for actor Andy Serkis.
I imagined the studio would immediately release the trailer online after one of the panels. After all, that's what the majority of the other television networks and movie studios do after showing off new footage at Comic Con panels these days.
Liongate actually dropped the "Power Rangers" trailer online ahead of its Saturday panel and then released the "John Wick" sequel trailer immediately following its reveal. Netflix and Marvel released the "Iron Fist" trailer after it played Saturday evening at the Javits Center and AMC followed suit by releasing a season 7 clip of "The Walking Dead" after its Madison Square Garden debut, despite warning crowds not to record footage and having security on hand.
But nearly a week has gone by since the "War for the Planet of the Apes" trailer was shown and Fox has yet to make a version available to fans. Even crazier is that a leaked version of the trailer hasn't managed to find its way online. All you can find is a 47-second teaser for the film that was released ahead of the Comic Con panels, but that doesn't show off any new footage.
It should really be commended.
In recent years, trailer leaks have detracted certain studios from coming to the Cons to show off new footage for upcoming films. In fact, Fox claimed that was the very reason it didn't head to San Diego Comic Con this year. It was thought the studio may show up with footage for video game movie "Assassin's Creed."
So it was a bit of a surprise when several days before New York Comic Con I received an invite from Fox to events where they would debut footage for "War for the Planet of the Apes." In addition to premiering the trailer, Fox showed off seven minutes of unfinished footage from the upcoming movie.
Today, it's silly to think that any "exclusive" footage may not leak online when fans have the ability to instantly capture and share footage from a phone. It's almost crazier to not release trailers right after they screen at a panel in the event they do leak online. There were two years in a row where a few big Warner Bros. trailers ("Batman v Superman" and "Suicide Squad") leaked online right after their debuts at San Diego.
Fox was able to do something that most other studios have been trying to nail down for the past few years - debut exclusive footage to fans but also keep it under wraps from the general public without a few bad eggs leaking it to the public. It's something other studios may want to take note of in the future.
How did Fox pull it off?
It probably helped that the event I went to October 6 for "War for the Planet of the Apes" was not conducted at the Javits Center but at a movie theater in Times Square. Fox had tons and tons of security on hand with night vision goggles. While the screen showed a hashtag to share for the evening before we even entered the theater we were told to turn our phones off.
Before the panel even started fans in the crowd were not allowed to have their phones out. Any time someone tried to take a device out they were immediately bum-rushed. Yeah, it was that serious. Even though the majority of people invited to the event were press, Fox wasn't taking any chances.
We were warned once more before the panel began from security to not have our phones out. When director Matt Reeves took the stage he joked to the crowd, "Don't make the ape security guards come out here and rip your arms out."
During Friday's panel for Andy Serkis at Madison Square Garden, security guards nearly tackled a guy in the VIP press section a few seats down from me and proceeded to force him to delete the footage he took right there. There was at least one person I saw get kicked out of the panel near the start and several others who were forced to get out of the audience and have their devices scrutinized by security.
It was a bit insane and unnerving, but in the end, it appears as if Fox's efforts have worked since the trailer has yet to appear online.
You can read our breakdown of the "War for the Planet of the Apes" Comic Con panel here.
The movie will be in theaters next July.