New ‘Tomorrowland’ Trailer Teases Crazy Action and Flying Bathtubs

In a summer filled with sequels and remakes and reboots, Tomorrowland is one of the few truly massive releases that doesn’t have a number in the title. While it may take its name from a “land” in Disney theme parks, the new trailer showcases a film that looks awfully ambitious, nutty and original. The studio’s accountants certainly see this as another avenue in strengthening the company’s theme park IP, but if all such exercises had directors like Brad Bird, the world would probably be a better place, full of more interesting movies.

This trailer begins like some of the others, with Britt Robertson’s Casey Newton discovering a strange pin that gives her visions of a futuristic city, sending her on a path to connecting with George Clooney’s cynical Frank Walker. Then it takes a hard left turn into crazyville and dedicates almost its entire running time to showing off an extended action scene, following Casey and Frank as they elude capture (or worse) from a team of raygun-wielding robots. The sequence, although undeniably chopped to ribbons for trailer purposes, showcases the visual wit and creatively staged action that made previous Bird’s previous outing, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, such a joy.

Like the other trailers, we are left not knowing what Tomorrowland is really about, but we’ve seen enough to know we’re on board. But what about, you know, normal people who don’t get a little tingly at the thought of a new Brad Bird film? Disney has a plan for them, of course. Disney always has a plan:

A special presentation of the film, featuring more than six minutes of footage to be introduced by director Brad Bird, will screen exclusively in IMAX® theatres domestically and in select international markets beginning May 1. This extended first look of Tomorrowland will screen directly prior to Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and will play for the duration of that film’s run in IMAX.

Since just about every person with a passing interest in movies is going to see Avengers: Age of Ultron, that sounds like a surefire way to get the word out before Tomorrowland officially opens on May 22.