New Fantastic Four Teaser Filled with Clichés

Marvel Drops New Teaser for Fantastic Four

Marvel just tossed a fresh teaser into the ring for its much-awaited Fantastic Four flick. It’s sparking some excitement, but not for all the right reasons. Why, you might wonder? Well, they’ve packed it with an overused sound effect of kids laughing. And, not just once—twice—in a mere 15-second span.

Last February, Marvel unveiled its plans for the reboot. It’s set to splash onto theater screens this July. The cast features Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, aka The Thing. Since the big reveal, details have been scarce, but today it changed with a tiny teaser clouded by repetitive noise.

A Peek Beyond the Lens

Fast forward to February 3, and Marvel teases a trailer. Welcome to 2025, where this has become the norm. In this quick snippet, we glimpse kids rushing to cluster around an old-timey TV display. It’s prepping to broadcast a rocket launch starring Marvel’s iconic family. Bet your boots nothing disastrous happens—yet. The full trailer promises more insights tomorrow.

But instead of relishing this sneak peek, my attention snagged on a nagging sound effect. You’ve likely heard it too—a gaggle of kids’ laughter that feels oddly artificial. This sound, “Small Group Kids Laug PE143601,” has haunted media since its recording for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1983. Over decades, it’s lingered in countless movies, games, and commercials.

Sounding Off on Sound Design

This laugh track shares a strange kinship with the famed Wilhelm Scream, used more for tradition than innovation. Sound engineers and designers cling to it, and by now, its recurrence feels almost ingrained in the industry.

To loop back to the Fantastic Four teaser, I find it bewildering that the marketing mavens decided on repeating it twice in such a short clip. In the full movie, I’m willing to wager it will be sparse, if it appears at all. Back-to-back, it’s too jarring to ignore.

So as I gear up for Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters on July 25, 2025, I’ll keep an ear out for this notorious sound. It might just have a sneaky cameo yet again.