Will Avatar: Fire and Ash Feature The Greatest Trailer Package of All Time?

With the film year starting to wind down and awards season kicking into gear, there's only a handful of upcoming releases that feel like big events. Sure, you've got some smaller awards-focused films like Hamnet and Sentimental Value coming up, but the majority of the big blockbusters have already released. The reason for that may be the fact that the biggest box office darling in James Cameron is returning with a new Avatar film in December. On December 19th, Avatar: Fire and Ash will release, in what is expected to be another huge box office hit for Disney. I've talked at length already on social media about my hype for that movie and the time will come for a huge review once it comes out, but that's not what I'm here to discuss today.

Credit: Disney

With the third installment in the Avatar franchise drawing in huge holiday crowds, it becomes a expected spot for many huge movie trailers to play in front of it. Add on the fact that Disney is the studio producing it and it's looking like the Fire and Ash theater experience may bring more than just another three-hour epic from Cameron. Here I'll break down some of the new trailers that are expected to be attached with Avatar on December 19th and what we can expect from those previews.

Avengers: Doomsday

Credit: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

Release Date: December 18th, 2026

If we began the article talking about the potential highest grossing movie of 2025, how about we continue with what is expected to be the highest grosser of 2026? Avengers: Doomsday may not release for almost exactly a year after Fire and Ash's opening day, but the rumor mill has already been swirling about Marvel attaching a short teaser at the end of the year. Although Marvel has never been known to promote their Avengers films this far out, Doomsday may turn out to be a special case. We've already seen them promote it over a year in advance, when in March they revealed the cast with a livestream before filming even began. That was essentially a first teaser in itself and it continues to prove that Marvel knows they need to promote this film more than their prior Avengers installments. Marvel films are not the sure thing they used to be and the studio will want all the eyes on this one as early as possible. What could this teaser look like? I wouldn't expect much, since we are so far out and filming only just wrapped around a month ago (not to mention a round of reshoots is expected early next year). The safest bet is a closer look at Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom, revealing his design and voice for the iconic villain. RDJ has been the main promotion for this film and that should be the best way to showcase it for the more casual audiences.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Credit: MEGA/GC Images

Release Date: July 31st, 2026

Even though the next Tom Holland-helmed Spider-Man movie comes out many months before Doomsday, it actually still has not completed filming. This means the chances of a teaser decrease slightly, but it's definitely not impossible to release a teaser without not completely being finished filming. We've seen it with theater exclusives in the past, including The Odyssey just this past summer, and it makes sense because there's not another great spot for the first teaser to be. The next spot would be at the Super Bowl in February, a place where Sony has never really been known to drop any huge promotional material. They've sort of backed themselves into a corner with their filming schedule and it allows for the potential for a first look this December. It's also important to note that although they only co-own the rights for Spider-Man, the film being a half-owned Disney/Marvel project would give it priority over some of the other possible trailers on this list. As for what to expect, it would probably give us a more HD look at Holland's new suit alongside some of the supporting characters in the film like the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Punisher (Jon Bernthal).

The Odyssey

Credit: Universal Pictures

Release Date: July 17th, 2026

The Odyssey already defied all conventional trailer wisdom this year when it released a first look teaser attached to Jurassic World: Rebirth. It had not finished filming and still was almost exactly year out from release. But we know by now that Christopher Nolan has a hold over the film industry like no other and the promotion for his films will start way before most modern filmmakers. The teaser back in July was exclusive to theaters and was very short, so a new publicly released look should be expected at some point soon. Although this doesn't have the same connection as the previous two as it doesn't belong to a Disney-associated company, it is again a great spot to showcase the film to all the Avatar viewers. Filming has been wrapped for a little while and if they had a first look ready in the middle of filming, they surely have a longer teaser ready for release. Seven to eight months ahead of a big release like this is typically the time where we'll get a first official trailer so this feels like a natural attachment by the time December comes around. Compared to the first two that may be theater exclusives, this will probably be something that releases online the week before it finds its way into theaters. A new teaser could be expected to showcase much more of the stacked cast and the setting of Nolan's adaptation of the iconic novel.

Project Hail Mary

Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

Release Date: March 20th, 2026.

If you know me, you know that the Project Hail Mary novel is my favorite book of all time. With the movie being helmed by the directors of the Spider-Verse franchise (Phil Lord and Chris Miller) and starring Ryan Gosling, it has instantly jumped up to my most anticipated release of next year. The first trailer already released back in late June, but it's starting to get closer to the release date which means the odds increase for another trailer to drop. What's working against this one's chances is the fact that the first trailer was already very long and in depth, meaning that a second teaser may not be a huge piece of marketing for the film. This is also not a Disney associated film. But it should be said that it's sci-fi nature should cause for some audience overlap with Avatar viewers, meaning that it would be a good spot to show off a new look. There's a decently high chance that this will show in front of Fire and Ash, but it may just be the same trailer as we've already seen. This movie promises to be one of the early awards contenders for the Oscars in 2027, so it'll be a priority from Amazon to get it seen by as many audience members as possible. Even if it's not a new teaser, I can promise that seeing anything related to this movie in IMAX is 100% worth it - Greig Fraser (Dune: Part Two, The Batman) seems to have absolutely nailed the visuals as usual.

Supergirl

Credit: Warner Brothers Pictures

Release Date: June 26th, 2026

Supergirl is a film where I am almost absolutely sure we will get a first look in December. Disney obviously won't be giving an exclusive to a DC/Warner film, but if the trailer drops in December you can bet that your local theater will be showing it alongside Fire and Ash. The reason I'm so confident is not only the rumor mill, but also the fact that we can expect this film to follow a very similar marketing path to James Gunn's Superman. That film also utilized the summer season for its release date and the first teaser was released on December 19th the previous winter. In fact, Superman came out a few weeks earlier than Supergirl is planned to. With the next DC film not being until September in Clayface, we can expect DC to focus hard on promoting this film just like they did for Superman last year. The film wrapped back in May of this year, so whatever we do see in December should be resembling a pretty packed trailer. It's taking directly from the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic, featuring Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) dealing with the fallout of her childhood trauma. The character was already teased in Gunn's first installment into the DC universe and it appears this will take an almost exactly opposite vibe from that one. Where Superman focused on positivity over anything else, Supergirl should be a much darker and humorous take on a lead superhero. I read the comic earlier this year and I can confidently say we are in for an absolute treat if they stick the landing!

Other Possibilities

Credit: Disney

Toy Story 5: June 19th, 2026

Live Action Moana: July 10th, 2026

Toy Story 5 has a similar release date to Supergirl and has the advantage there because it's a Disney film. Although some have dropped off that franchise after the fourth installment, it's still a huge brand for the company and the time for the first teaser is coming up soon. The chances of a teaser releasing online the week before and playing with Fire and Ash seems very likely. The last big Disney release upcoming is the live action Moana film, which has already been wrapped filming for a long time. After the box office success of Moana 2 and the live action Lilo and Stitch, Disney will definitely want to go full steam ahead on the marketing for this one. It may seem a little early, but a shorter 30-60 second teaser could really help kick off the promotion for a film that's expected to be a huge money-maker for them. There's a chance they wouldn't want to overshadow Moana with Toy Story 5 and vice versa, so maybe just pick one of those two. Toy Story 5 obviously seems more likely because it is releasing earlier.

My Final Prediction for which teasers will play in front of Avatar: Fire and Ash is: Toy Story 5, Supergirl, The Odyssey, Project Hail Mary, Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.