#trailer breakdown

Okay, I know we're going in bold with Marinette Akumatized, but I really, really, really think this is it!!

Let's break it down (while I break down 😭)

First, Marinette has reached the last page of her Diary and is sad about it. (Or sad about the usual stuff and the diary somehow has to do with today's sadness) Then she puts the letter from Gabriel to Adrien in her school bag, which tells me it's not only still on her mind but also that she may be considering giving it to him again.

We see that Marinette has gone to Adrien's before school, and I guess she chickens out of giving it to him then. However, he very clearly sees it, and while he initially smiles at her (Maybe in an attempt to comfort her, since it's clear she's upset about something), he looks sad when she walks away.

Okay, now cut to school. Someone is surveilling Nino and Alya, who we initially thought was Loic, but we realized his clothes are different. Who is this guy? His phone case has a broken heart on it, so he does seem to be in on this scheme to break up couples. (The last image is the three stooges' outfits for reference.)

So Now Prem seems to point out to Adrien that Marinette and Nino are running around in secret together, planting a seed of doubt in Adrien's mind about Marinette.

(Look at our poor boy's confused and surprised reaction?? 😭)

More Prem planting more seeds of doubt.

Adrien looks uncomfortable/taken aback by Prem's hug, and I think it's because he's 'comforting' him over something negative that Adrien either doesn't believe or doesn't want to. (And then he touches his face? Kind of odd for someone who doesn't seem that close, but okay.) Now Adrien must already be thinking Marinette is keeping things from him, because he saw the letter earlier. Maybe he doesn't know who it's from. Maybe he thinks it's from Marinette (Maybe even a breakup letter??) due to whatever it is Prem is saying to him.

Now cue this evil smirk while our boy looks like the whole rug has been pulled from beneath him! So is Prem Evil then? Why would he do this? Is he working for the three Stooges, or Lila? He seemed so sweet in Vampigami; was it all an act?

Actually, I don't think so, because we have a theory! (We'll get to it below!)

Okay, now onto the séance Three Stooges meeting in the Library. They seem to be attempting to summon a duppy, ghost, spirit Akuma. It seems to be successful, with an Akuma taking nest in a cell phone (potentially the one with the broken heart case). And we even see Chrysalis IN PERSON in the Library. (Possible confirmation that they are working for her?)

Now, does this mean the three of them all get akumatized together at once? Like when Alya and Nino get Akumatized together in Oblivio, or Andre and Audrey in Heartbreaker? (Considering the title of the episode being similar, I'm going to say this is exactly it.)

So is the Akuma we see later in the teaser the three of them??

We don't think so!

We think that somehow, the three idiots get the ability to disguise themselves as other people! Namely, Prem, Marinette, and Nino!

Why?

Because if they show Adrien (And possibly Alya) that Nino and Marinette are "cheating" on them, they can break up two couples at once! Also, Adrien (And Alya) knows that pre-Alya, Nino actually had a crush on Marinette! So there could already be a basis for the seed to be planted to begin with. This would also explain Prem's evil smirk if he is innocent. It could even have been the real Prem who pointed out that Nino and Marinette were running around together (Since Prem looks genuinely surprised in that shot) and "Fake" Prem in the hug scene.

This would also explain the Marinette/Nino interaction later on in the trailer (see below) if it's not actually them.

Moving on, we see Adrien running and then hiding and watching the three losers. Now I want to point out that these two frames of Adrien hiding seem to be in different locations. In the first one, he seems to be hiding behind a window frame and looking through a large window. He also seems to be on what appears to be at least a second floor or high-up place (Due to the roof behind him) with a railing. In the second, he's hiding against a brick wall to a doorframe. I truly think these are different scenes spliced together. So I think that the one with the window may actually be Adrien witnessing the (upcoming) Nino and Marinette interaction.

And here it is, the moment you've been waiting for: We believe this is MARINETTE being Akumatized!

First, we see Tikki, looking absolutely horrified!

Adrien is on his KNEES in front of the person getting Akumatized, while Tikki looks on in horror.

Who would Adrien be kneeling in front of, alone in a dark classroom, with Tikki nearby?

Look at the shock/fear??? It's very similar to when he saw his father's statue Akumatized. I think you'd be equally upset if your girlfriend just got Akumatized right in front of you. Especially when you are a person who should be able to protect her. Heck, especially if he somehow caused it! Like if he had confronted her about the secrets and lies he suspects she's been keeping, (Which he thinks is about Nino) and she mistakes it for an accusation about the other lies and secrets she's actually been keeping?

And If that's not enough, we get this!

A curvy, female-presenting figure with a barbed wire rope that she... SWINGS LIKE THE YO-YO? JUST LIKE LADYBUG DOES? Tell me that's not Ladybug's physique.

Adrien runs away and... FINALLY!!!! WE GET TO SEE CHAT NOIR'S TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE?!?!?!

Then we finally see the Marinette/Nino scene-o I kept mentioning:

Shock! Horror! Marinette and Nino are cheaters! (Except it's a trick.)

Then we see this shot of Adrien being utterly shooketh, but I also don't think this scene belongs either. Because A) those doors behind him look like doors to a kitchen or the movie theater, and B) He's wearing different clothing (!! Outfit change??)

Yet more fuel for our theory: We can't see who Lila/Chrysalis has in her hand. Is it the three Stooges? Or Marinette?

So going back to my earlier comment about the "spying" scenes being different, this is how I think the scene order actually goes. Prem tells him maybe, "Your girlfriend is Shmoozing with your bestie in the greenhouse," and Adrien goes running to see if it's true. (You can see the greenhouse thingy ahead of him, where he seems to be running to.) Then you see him looking in the window. (The greenhouse seems to be on some kind of bridge/lifted area, and also has a railing, so could match the location.) Then he witnesses the shocking tryst inside. (Note the green window frame and very tall windows, matching the greenhouse.)

The trailer begins with a shot of a large stage with The Horsemen and their logo projecting from the building with the words "In the world of magic everything that disappears reappears..." spoken by Daniel Atlas. I think this is the first misdirect in the trailer as the scene they show directly after those exterior shots does not take place in that specific building.

This scene is a flashback that occurs before the events of this movie. That's fairly obvious, but when? If it takes place during the first movie, we can assume they have kept the canon of the first two movies because we can see them wearing costumes resembling their show in New Orleans during NYSM1. They have even tried to replicate their appearance (hair and makeup) during this time.

We know that Henley was not present during the events of NYSM2 so if this performance occurred after that movie, The Horsemen must have reunited and made a reappearance some length of time after that (assuming around 9 years have passed).

If they are ignoring the canon of NYSM2, then this easily takes place sometime after the first movie, with Jack making his reappearance within the group (after his fake death in NYSM1).

Whatever happened after this, the group broke up. Or at least, Daniel has separated himself from them.

The first location we meet The Ponies is Japan, I believe. Daniel finds them in a Karaoke bar. There are Japanese letters written on the screen behind them. Also, the exterior shot shows the Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers--a building in Japan. I don't believe they actually shot in Japan but this most likely takes place there.

There is a microphone on the table so we might get a goofy scene of The Ponies singing a song, which could be cute or really annoying. They have money on the table so it is possible they won a karaoke competition using some kind of trickery/mimickery. We already know Bosco does an impersonation of Atlas so this could be hinting that he has a similar 'mimicking' skill to Jack in NYSM1 à la "We're all good at six, move to seven."

{ note: i have to also mention i think that the horsemen’s appearance we see at the beginning at the trailer may be a hologram created by the ponies to get some money—as in the whole thing is a scam concocted by them to get money from loyal fans of the horsemen. a bit crazy if that’s the case because that defeats their entire message if they are scamming the public but this is only another theory }

I believe that Daniel Atlas walks in ready to recruit them to which we get the exchange of "I'll be the judge of that." I know I wrote in my notes I thought that might have been a fake interaction spliced together for the trailer but I think he actually does walk in saying this remark lmao.

The three Ponies seem like they are classic grumpy-sunshine trio. With Charlie (Justice Smith) being the ditzy one -- aka young Jack, Bosco (Dominic Sessa) being the witty one -- aka young Daniel, and June (Ariana Greenblatt) being the badass one, not necessarily a younger one of The Horsemen but very on par with how Ruben Fleisher writes young women, if you've seen Zombieland.

The card Daniel shows them is the Judgement tarot card. These cards have only occasionally had meaning with Jack, Dylan and (potentially, depending on the development of Henley/Daniel in this film) Daniel's holding any plot significance. However this card's reading implies that The Ponies will be taking over in the franchise from this point forward, assuming NYSM:NYD does well enough in cinemas.

One small confusing thing is that June has tattoos. I know this is not super crazy as some young people have tattoos underage. But, could this imply she's meant to be over the age of 18? Extremely strange decision to cast 17-year-old Ariana Greenblatt for this part. Unless they are all meant to be teenagers (17-19) and Dominic Sessa and Justice Smith are playing younger? Because if not it begs the question what is a 17-year-old girl doing with these two twenty-something-year-old men in Japan all by themselves? But let's smile and wave until the film releases hopefully with a good explanation.

{ note: ariana greenblatt mentioned in an interview on the zach sang show that she is in fact “playing older.” i think this is extremely strange casting decision, and i don’t understand casting a minor to play an adult if that’s the case. my thoughts might change when i see the film, however. }

Anyway, so they fly to Belgium with Daniel to track down the Heart Diamond. I assume in disguises judging by those BTS photos. I have a theory Daniel dresses up as a guy in a beard (assuming he is a fugitive) but that could just be a random passerby from Antwerp (Belgium) because they did film in public areas. They may also have stolen intel from him for the heist they are planning (or that Daniel is forcing these children into, lol).

So we are still in Belgium when we arrive at whatever location they are holding this event for the Heart Diamond (to the surprise of everyone it is shaped like a heart). I assume it's an auction.

Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike) is the name of the main British villain in this movie. She has two main henchmen beside her a lot of the time. The main one I have labelled as 'Hench #1' (Thabang Molaba) in my notes.

The Ponies and Daniel get into the event using disguises. I'm guessing this is a similar to how they hijacked Octa in NYSM2. One interesting this I noticed is that they had to switch the real diamond for the fake one at some point. I think they do this by posing as the camera men for Veronika. Bosco has a fake beard and can be seen taking pictures in the trailer.

I feel Daniel can't help showboating which ruins this heist. He shows the diamond, creating a scuffle. Security then attacks them, and probably gets the diamond back for the movie. Ego has always been Daniel's downfall so this is unsurprising. Veronika is escorted out by her bodyguards/henchmen.

The Horsemen show up to save Daniel and The Ponies from disaster. I have predicted a Jack card trick similar to that of NYSM2 with the raining cards (in their London performance) to create diversions as they try to escape. Charlie is also seen creating a puff of smoke, and of course, Henley shows up and hits some henchmen in the head with a bottle.

They meet up with Merritt, who is waiting with an escape onto a boat. If they were sent to save Daniel I am guessing they all individually got tired of him (I think he lied to The Ponies and this will be revealed as the key divide in the group) or another theory is they all did just grow apart and we will get a bit more about this tension while they travel on the boat. I think they travel on the boat to France.

I believe there may be a significant conversation or runtime spent on the boat as they changed outfits before they reached France. Or, this scene at the French Eye HQ takes place towards the end of the film (I am more confident in the former theory).

We get some classic Merritt-Daniel playful banter. I believe at this point there is still some kind of divide between The Horsemen.

Now these scenes once they reach the Eye HQ are hard to decipher but I have come up with two possible storylines.

STORYLINE 1: THEY ESCAPE THE POLICE

They get there and do not know how to get inside. I find this strange because surely they would be apart of the eye by now, but it's possible they were given a new address they haven't been to. I maybe I think Daniel snaps at Merritt because he is making fun of his 'open sesame' gag from his failed Heart Diamond heist earlier but it could just be their usual 'I hate you so much my brother' banter. I believe it does work and the door opens, which is meant to be a funny and frustrating coincidence. Or, either way it is a secret door because you can see in the background it looks like a bookshelf has been opened.

So they get inside and are greeted by Thaddeus. He gives them their mission. Then, they practice magic tricks and Henley changes her dress as an example to the Ponies.

Somehow the French Police manage to find them in this top secret location and get inside the building. They split off into groups accidentally while trying to run from the police.

Jack and June end up fighting together in what looks like a music room, Henley and Charlie end up fighting in a hall of mirrors and Daniel and Bosco end up evading the police in a rotating hall way.

(Also, Thaddeus and Merritt, but I talk about this later.)

Jesse Eisenberg explained during an interview that he and Dominic Sessa were running from the French police (so this portion of the film definitely takes place in France) and that he broke his finger during it.

Jesse can be seen wearing a cast in multiple set photos. This is a small thing but I believe that speech he gives on TikTok was because it was his birthday on that day of filming (he appeared in costume in his trailer at the 62nd New York Film Festival for A Real Pain in his 'birthday tux' back in October 2024).

I think they all break off into little 'teams' being Pony/Horseman so they can bridge the gap between the two a little more. They could successfully avoid the police this way.

After the police disrupt them, they either make their way to another location with the Penrose illusion (doors/stairs/mirrors) or this is a secret room in the Eye HQ and it gives them their idea for their final trick which I am theorizing involves mirror magic.

Merritt may have taken edible gummies at some point between the boat to France from Belgium, after the fight with the French police or when he last sees Thaddeus. This is the only way I could understand this line and I think it was meant to be humourous. It makes sense with both Woody Harrelson and Merritt as a character, I think.

STORYLINE 2: SOME GET ARRESTED

Mostly the same prior to the police showing up. But, I believe either Merritt, Jack or June get taken into custody or Thaddeus Bradley does, or possibly all. Another theory is Thaddeus sacrifices himself for The Horsemen/Ponies and possibly dies (it's possible Morgan Freeman asked to be killed off, but I don't know think they are ready to make the franchise that 'dark' per se, but it's Ruben Fleischer so you never know). I only guess this because there is a particular scene where the police break into a room where only Thaddeus is standing and Merritt calls out to him from the open door. This could be why only the ‘teams’ of Henley/Charlie and Daniel/Bosco are seen in this Penrose room as they are the ones who managed to successfully avoid the police.

However, Merritt is also seen in this room. This could mean he was in there before the others or that this is in fact simply a new location they all go to after the Eye HQ.

Although there is some kind of scene I think at a police station where Merritt and June are fighting the French police. Or, maybe he somehow sets fire to the room with the Penrose illusion.

{ note: it seems like merritt lost his hat in the kerfuffle with the police and goes without it for the remainder of the movie, hopefully under the final show. rip merritt’s hat 🥲 }

The final act may take place in Abu Dhabi, specifically in the Lourve Abu Dhabi. There are scenes of some kind of underground meeting between Veronika Vanderberg and war dealers/arms dealers she must be selling diamonds to or whatever. I couldn't quite figure out where to place this specific sequence with this underground into the story but I am fairly certain it is in Abu Dhabi as this is probably the Vanderberg base of operations.

At some point I believe near the end of the film, The Horsemen arrange to meet with Veronika Vanderberg. I'm guessing to arrange some confrontation (probably in an attempt to get her to fall into their trap à la Walter Mabry Potter style).

{ note: something happens with a race car, as we see a race track, i initially thought it was veronika driving away or something but more teaser trailers revealed it is bosco driving? so one of his skills may include driving an f1 car for yet unknown reasons }

The Horsemen confront her face-to-face and leave The Ponies at home for the day. They get tricked and are dropped into a tank of water to drown. They all work together to get out of the tank. This may be the moment where they finally come back together (as friends). However, I hope they have patched this up before this.

If this is the moment they patch things up. They might have dried off then called Veronika Vanderberg, but that depends.

{ note: they might have indeed dried off because i’ve noticed that the ceiling is the same as the destination for what i believe is the final “showdown” at the louvre abu dhabi }

I have another theory that there is another character in the tank scene. Atlas might have called for help from the Eye before hand (another theory for the phone call) and Dylan Shrike will show up fashionably late, or just dressed in clothes. Veronika has a gun in one scene, perhaps ready to shoot them after they survived the tank so I'm guessing that's where Dylan swoops in.

In an interview, Isla Fisher explains they were filming that tank scene for a week and one cast member peed inside the tank. She explains that herself, Jesse, Woody, Dave and one other cast member she 'can't mention' because it could get her into trouble if they are not announced to be in the movie. I believe this is Mark Ruffalo making a cameo. I think they intentionally left him out of the trailer as a surprise, despite having announced him in several cast lists and having listed his name on IMDb.

Other cameos may be Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) because apparently he is credited in this film. It would be fun if all the British villains in this universe were related somehow lmao. Sadly, I do not think Lula May (Lizzy Caplan) is in the movie unless she’s werewolfing in her interviews and she is making a small cameo like Ruffalo. But I think that’s the most we’ll see of her. However, if Walter Mabry is in the film, this is good as they haven't completely ignored NYSM2 and we may yet have an explanation for her absence.

{ note: lizzy caplan was in fact werewolfing because lula may is in the movie!! this could mean we get all 6 ogs on screen at the same time. depending on ruffalo’s appearance ofc. but he’s said to be in the film! *fingers crossed* also, it may be that calls daniel makes before they go to veronika is asking lula for help. doubt remains on what’s to become of lula x jack. cred to @shunalis-blog for finding the clip of lula lionsgate accidentally posted to their tiktok 😭 }

{ note: mark ruffalo is in fact in the movie. on wikipedia edited 6th nov, it is confirmed that dylan appears as a hologram. this may mean the big twist of the movie is going to involve holograms }

The shots we see at the beginning of the trailer I think are at the end of the movie during this confrontation. BTS images show that Bosco and June (and we can assume Charlie as well) are present during filming at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. So, I am betting this is where the final show takes place. It makes sense that the projections appear out of nowhere, as we've seen this before. And, they have gone with the name "THE HORSEMEN" instead of The Four Horsemen as The Ponies are now a part of the group.

{ note: they have actually gone by the general name the horsemen loosely since the second film, because they had the addition of lula. however they are still referred to several times as the four horsemen in nysm2. although i think there will still be a moment where they hand over the torch to the ponies, essentially. though it's still unclear if they are ignoring all or some events of the second film as they have state it's a soft reimagining in the past. }

As a final thing. I must talk about the graphic design of this movie. They have changed the font/style of the title card three times and they picked the ugliest one for the poster.

The first movie's poster is undoubtedly the best poster, with the order of quality going down in order of release. It's a shame because I think the NYSM1 poster is so iconic and quite gorgeous, really. The only thing I hope for is another score by Brian Tyler. Let's see if I get anything right.

"The moment Li Tianxi died... why did I see those strange visions..." Qiao Ling looks defensive with whoever she is talking to - apparently, someone who is working with Wang Qing in the background. I think it could be Jae Lee, but I suppose it could also be LX. The dialogue is also not necessarily from this scene. It could be that she is being cornered for a deal (if LX) or questioned (if JL).

QL with her eyes white. The lighting is very different from the subway tunnel, so I'm assuming this is in season 3, and her power is going to activate unexpectedly. We see LTC with a cap and black jacket poised to lunge. I wonder if he's training or something, or if he's going to target QL multiple times. Notably, he doesn't have the tattoo yet on his palm.

Then we have LG having a breakdown (so, nothing new, poor guy), and Jae strolling up like "Hi. I'm Jae. :)" He keeps his eyes closed, which is interesting to me.

The "You really wanna take the fall?" sounds like Captain Xiao to me (which means it's in the present), but the overlay of that line with this scene has me worried. Cheng Weimin with blood on his neck looking scared and angry running forward to hug what looks like a traumatized kid CXS. I am gripped by the sudden fear that CWM covered for something his son did by accident and then altered his memories or something to stop people from coming after him. Since he claims in Yingdu that he thinks he wasn't a very good father, I wonder if the reason little CXS is in this situation is because of him.

CWM trying to grab a gun from a young Vein, who fires it while clearly being possessed due to his yellow eyes! Is it CXS? Shao Yuanyuan? Please don't let it be CXS trying not to shoot his own father. That would be so horrible. But also I find myself so fascinated by what is going on with Vein here. The puppet imagery earlier, and now being possessed by a time traveler? How much of his violent action here is his own?

We also apparently have the Bridon police having had a secret force a long time ago. I assume JL was either a part of it or its legacy somehow. I don't know how CWM fits into this - whether he was a part of the force or in conflict with it.

Okay so the bullet casing that went flying from little Vein's gun is going to be important since we got an extended shot of it. And then we see the Bahati fire again. Did this incident spark the flame, or is it a red herring?

Why is CWM reaching for someone who is behind bars? Why are his glasses lenses opaque??? What were you up to, CWM???? Why did you find yourself at a school which had multiple kids with abilities????? Did you lock someone up or are you trying to help????????

"What did my dad do?" indeed, CXS. I really wish he wasn't in constant tears in this trailer... It looks like he found out something awful about his dad and went running off. :(

And finally, LG breaking down in front of QL on the train tracks. His hunched posture, the way he's gripping his hair, and flashing to what looks like the moment the trio finished renovating the photo studio... I don't think I can get over LG's crying voice. He sounds so young. He's definitely lost his last bit of control. Poor QL doesn't even seem to know how to react to him acting this way (but as a side note, props to her, because it looks like she's going to actually confront him, something she's had difficulty doing in the past seasons).