The Movie Couple React to Avatar: The Last Airbender, Digger, Forgotten Island and The Last House Trailers

We just watched four brand new trailers back to back for our fifth Reactathon, and the Avatar: The Last Airbender animated film footage is the one we were most nervous about because it had already leaked online in images and short clips before this official trailer dropped. We were relieved the real trailer finally arrived intact, since neither of us wanted to be spoiled on this one.

For anyone who loves these franchises, seeing Aang, Toph and the returning cast alongside a possible tie in to Republic City and Legend of Korra is exactly the kind of connective world building fans have been hoping for, and Tom Cruise stepping into a full blown political comedy is a hard left turn worth knowing about too.

Avatar: The Last Airbender trailer teases a Legend of Korra connection through the Equalists

We were struck by how much older and more sophisticated the animation style looks compared to the original series, calling it a genuine change in the art form itself rather than just a visual refresh. The trailer includes the line "you may be the last Airbender, but you're not alone," and we picked up on a moment referencing Republic City and a character saying "all accept mine," alongside a line about countless people killed in the hundred years while waiting for the Avatar's return.

We noticed dialogue about needing benders if anyone wants change, and we debated whether a character with distinctive eye makeup was meant to be Azula, though we were not certain. When the trailer hit its big fight sequence, we reacted with genuine excitement, saying "I love the fact that they're going like full anime on it," and we were both thrilled by a dedication shown at the end of the trailer for fans who resisted watching the leaked footage.

We think the storyline, involving a new order Aang is trying to build and people fighting against it, feels like it could be setting up the Equalists conflict from the final season of Legend of Korra, calling it a possible precursor. We compared this kind of franchise thread weaving to what Star Wars has done across its stories, noting that approach is sometimes amazing and sometimes not, but we are optimistic here. We also compared the rotating, continuous shot style of the big fight scene to the animation techniques Sony has used in K-pop Demon Hunters and Across the Spider-Verse, where the camera follows one character into the next without cutting. Because Aang is still alive in this story, we pointed out that a full Legend of Korra timeline would still require many more years to pass. We are especially excited to see Toph again, since in this era she is the only known metalbender, unlike Legend of Korra where the technique had spread because she was the one who invented it.

Digger trailer turns Tom Cruise into an unrecognizable political comedy lead

Going in, we knew almost nothing beyond Tom Cruise starring and Alejandro G. Iñárritu directing, and from the thumbnail alone we guessed old age makeup and a western setting. After watching, we landed somewhere else entirely, calling it "bizarre in the best way possible" and comparing its satire to Don't Look Up, Mickey 17 and possibly Burn After Reading. The trailer includes an $18 trillion worst case scenario line and a reveal that there is nuclear waste on top of everything else, all delivered with the kind of exaggerated political comedy that made us laugh out loud.

We pointed out that Cruise's character is named Rockwell, joking that his delivery sounds like Sam Rockwell, and admitted we might not have clocked it was Cruise at all without knowing in advance, comparing the effect to how his Tropic Thunder disguise took a moment to register. We are excited to see Cruise outside of his usual action hero mode, though we joked he might still get a signature running scene, just played for laughs this time.

Forgotten Island trailer follows two best friends pulled into a memory eating demon's realm

This animated trailer comes from the team behind Puss in Boots, a film we loved, and follows two lifelong friends whose paths are about to split when one plans to attend Caltech in America. Before that can happen, they end up pulled into a hidden realm called Forgotten Island that looks like paradise but hides a demon that feeds on memories, and anyone who forgets everything is trapped there forever. The characters appear to use gems collected on their wrists to spark their memories back.

We loved the animation style shift during an exaggerated reaction moment, comparing it to a similar beat in K-pop Demon Hunters, and we noted the overall vibe reminded us of Mitchell vs the Machines, correctly identifying Sony as the studio behind that film after briefly guessing Netflix. We expect the humor to be fun and ridiculous while still carrying real emotional weight, predicting real life best friends will watch this and end up crying together over the story of holding onto a friendship through the growing pains of adulthood.

The Last House trailer traps a family with creatures that may be feeding on them for years

We ended up watching a Netflix Philippines version of this trailer and hoped it matched what will run for US audiences. Going in, we compared the premise to family survival stories and to A Quiet Place. The footage shows a family sealed inside their home after doors will not open and a broken window somehow repairs itself, escalating into an entire city being locked down for nine days before jumping ahead to three years later.

We theorized the creatures might be keeping trapped families as a kind of stored food supply, occasionally letting them out so the creatures can chase them down, since the people apparently cannot get into any other houses once outside. We compared the creature sounds to A Quiet Place, noting these had more of a guttural clicking noise versus the higher pitch we remembered from that franchise, and joked the design reminded us of Predator crossed with a Jurassic Park dinosaur. We guessed the real scares are likely saved for later in the film, with the first act instead setting up a mystery about who these creatures are and why the world suddenly turned supernatural. We also noted the family would have to survive by farming and eating the same food repeatedly, comparing it to potato heavy diets from famine era Ireland and to The Martian, and admitted we personally could not handle eating the same meal on repeat that long.

Which of these four trailers has you the most excited, the Avatar: The Last Airbender return, Tom Cruise's Digger, Forgotten Island, or The Last House?