Avengers assemble! Early!
The trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron, the sequel to Marvel's blockbuster superhero team-up, has blasted its way onto the internet five days before it was supposed to after an unofficial version was leaked.
The clip shows a bulked up Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk battling the film's titular robot villain, Ultron, creepily voiced by The Blacklist's James Spader.
Marvel Films acknowledged the leak, tweeting:
Hydra, a shadowy organisation of Nazi-like villains that have cropped in the Captain America movies and the TV show Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, will also appear in the film.
The teaser trailer had been scheduled to make its debut in the US next week during Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and then appear online afterwards.
Avengers: Age of Ultron is set to hit cinemas in May next year. The first Avengers made US$1.5 billion at the box office and expectations are high for the sequel.
- nzherald.co.nz
The Australian site cited a 'heightened threat level' as the issue.