WATCH: Official ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ trailer reveals near-future apocalypse

 

If we weren’t any wiser, we’d probably think Ultron himself had a hand in this.

 

A full week ahead of its scheduled debut on ABC’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”, the hotly anticipated first official trailer for the upcoming superhero blockbuster “Avengers: Age of Ultron” was leaked online, spreading like wildfire across social media – perhaps even faster than Quicksilver himself could take it down.

 

“I’m gonna show you something beautiful…”

 

Narrated by the murderous mechanical menace Ultron (portrayed by James Spader), the two-minute-seventeen-second trailer paints a bleak picture of the state of the world in the sequel to 2012’s “The Avengers.” The trailer seems to hint that things did not turn out quite as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) planned after he gave up on being Iron Man and destroyed his armory by activating the Clean Slate Protocol, and that dark times are ahead for Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and the rest of the heroes who fought against the Chitauri invaders in the Battle of New York.

New heroes, new armor
 

The trailer also gives us our first glimpse at the Maximoff twins, Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), in action as the costumed adventurers Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. The twins were first seen in the mid-credits stinger of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (which starred Chris Evans in the title role). Eagle-eyed fans will also notice Andy Serkis near the 1:33 mark, in an as-of-yet unspecified role.

 

Perhaps most exciting of all, however, is the appearance of the fan-favorite Hulkbuster armor, fully operational and ready to deliver a beatdown of incredible proportions to the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).

 

Almost immediately after the leak, Marvel Entertainment was seemingly able to ascertain the masterminds behind the early reveal:

 

Dammit, Hydra.

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) October 22, 2014

 

Some sites report that representatives from Walt Disney Studios asked them to remove the links to the leaked video from their pages. However, hours later, Marvel turned the situation around (and presumably dealt Hydra a crushing blow) by uploading the high-definition version of the trailer on YouTube and disseminating the link via Twitter.

 

Here it is! Watch the @Avengers: #AgeofUltron Teaser Trailer right NOW: http://t.co/pGnQIskF8c #Avengers

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) October 23, 2014

 

As one of the most anticipated sequels slated for next year, Avengers: Age of Ultron is the culmination of “Phase Two” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and sees fan-favorite heroes like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor teaming up once more versus a threat no single hero could ever hope to face:

The future revealed
 

After the events of 2012’s The Avengers and the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Tony Stark/ Iron Man is inspired to create an A.I. system that will act as a safeguard to mankind’s security from potential threats. Unfortunately, the computer goes rogue and turns against its creators, thereby becoming the sentient living android known as “Ultron.” With this new threat, it will take nothing less than the reformation of the “Avengers” to put a stop to Ultron’s plans and save the entire planet as we know it from the evil it had created.

 

Joining Downey Jr. and company in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” are Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S. and the Vision, Don Cheadle as War Machine, and Thomas Kretschmann as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. 

Directed by Joss Whedon, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" will hit theaters on May 1, 2015. — with Tim G. Villasor/TJD, GMA News