We already feel like we’ve been talking about Super 8 forever, which is funny because Paramount Pictures just released the official movie trailer online. Besides being much easier on the eyes than previous bootleg versions, this teaser for the Steven Spielberg-produced JJ Abrams-directed project has revealed several easter eggs tied to the film’s viral marketing campaign. A guide to what we know so far, along with the HD trailer, after the jump.
OK — so are you ready to really geek out on this? Good. Our friends over at Slashfilm noticed some flashing letters during the final few seconds of the trailer. (Check out screengrabs below.) They spell out, “Scariest Thing I Ever Saw,” which just so happens to be the name of a website that was registered by the same people behind the film’s official site.
Once you’re on ScariestThingIEverSaw.com, things take a turn for the old school (hello, 16-bit microcomputer display!) and weird. After a series of prompts, you land on a cryptic countdown screen. Slashfilm thinks that something will be revealed or unlocked on May 15. The guys at Super8News also spotted the mention of a “D, Morris” on the viral site; they draw a connection between Dan Morris, a retired Air Force Master Sergeant who was involved in extraterrestrial projects for years.
Finally, there’s this face — which Carlton Halpert notes flashes right before the letters at the end of the trailer. Does it belong to a scared kid or an alien? If HeatVision is right, and the film has to do with “the possibility that a group of kids in 1979 are playing around making movies with their Super 8 cameras (as Abrams and Spielberg did as kids) and accidentally capture something … sinister, on film,” then we’re going to assume it’s one of the filmmaker kids. That said, remember that principal photography for this Summer 2011 release doesn’t begin until this fall, so at this point, anything is possible.