Ever since fans received their first taste of Avengers: Age of Ultron back at San Diego Comic Con 2014 in July, fans have wondered when any footage would leak.

Would we see a surprise trailer attached to Guardians of the Galaxy, a’la the teaser on Captain America: The First Avenger? Nope.

Would a fan sneak a camera into the New York Comic Con screening of that same San Diego Comic Con footage? Apparently not.

In something amazing in this day and age of constant leaks, whether from films or from the world of technology - Disney/Marvel Studios seemed to keep the footage under their control, with a planned official trailer premiere for Tuesday, October 28th, on ABC, during an airing of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The world had other plans, however…

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At about 7pm Eastern last night, a decent - but not high quality - version of the International trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron hit the web. Quickly, Disney dispatched cease and desist notices to any and all websites hosting the pirated trailer.

But then…they did something incredibly forward for a major movie studio. They gave in and released the trailer (along with the above teaser poster, reminiscent of the original Avengers teaser poster) just under a week early.

www.youtube.com/watch 

Well folks, the Age of Ultron is here, and it looks fantastic.

Ultron, voiced wonderfully by James Spader, looks like a remarkable threat. The direction and composition looks worlds better than the first film (tip of the hat to the new DP, Ben Davis). The stakes look global - as opposed to the first, which focused on New York. The use of “I’ve Got No Strings” is remarkably effective and creepy. And…was that Andy Serkis? Who the hell is he playing?

Oh, and of course - OH MY GOD THE HULKBUSTER ARMOR IS FINALLY REAL.

It’s going to be a long six months until Age of Ultron hits.

You can speak to the burnout of all of the comic book movies that are come and gone, but this trailer speaks to an incredibly important key - good movies are good movies, regardless of the genre.

Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters April 24, 2015 internationally, and May 1, 2015 here in the USA.