‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ trailer officially debuts after online leak

The first trailer for Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the sequel to the blockbuster “The Avengers,” was released early after it was leaked online Wednesday.

Originally the teaser was to make its public debut after the Oct. 28 broadcast of the TV show “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” but after it was leaked online — from an unknown source — it was posted on the verified Twitter accounts for “The Avengers” and Marvel Entertainment at about 6:30 p.m. PDT.

No explanation was given.

Marvel’s hand may have been forced after the leaked versions of the trailer spread like wildfire through social media earlier in the day. Seemingly in response to the leak, Marvel posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet cursing the fictional terrorist organization Hydra, which appears in several of the company’s movies.

Set for release May 1 and directed once again by Joss Whedon, “Age of Ultron” continues the adventures of the Avengers, a group of superheroes who have love-hate relationships with one another but are great at saving the world together.

The theme of the trailer is dark and indicates that Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and their comrades are once again fighting among themselves while trying to combat their latest adversary, Ultron, an android with daddy issues who’s played by James Spader.

Amid all the infighting, the teaser also offers glimpses of Iron Man’s oversize Hulkbuster armor (used to corral a raging Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo), superpowered siblings Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and of course, destruction on an epic scale.

The first “Avengers” movie was a massive success in 2012, becoming the third-highest-grossing film of all time and the fastest film to gross $1 billion.

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