History Main / RealTrailerFakeMovie

** The final number of the musical adaptation of ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'' mentions a ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' musical coming 'next year'. That was 2010, so it very well may have been an example of this trope.

** [[https://youtu.be/hGMrc3ozMhs Waldo The Movie.]]

** "Fry Again" is about Vanessa, who is trapped in a perpetual GroundhogDayLoop, and uses it as a chance to indulge in hedonism and eat Nacho Fries, which will never leave due to the time loop. However, things take a turn for the weird when a mysterious man finds out about it. Now, Vanessa and her friend will have to stay ahead of whoever is chasing them. This ad is notable for being based entirely off of fan tweets, leading it to become the campaign's BizzaroEpisode due to its combining of three distinct genres.

* [[https://youtu.be/Rt3NfymWlss The Waldo Ultimatum.]]

* [[https://youtu.be/arP1YKAyR_g Where's Waldo?: The Movie.]]

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' had one of these where a trailer for ''Film/TheWeddingBride'' was mentioned on the show and the full trailer was [[http://www.weddingbridemovie.com/ released online here.]] The movie describes [[spoiler:Ted's failed relationship with Stella however from the somewhat skewed mind of her ex-boyfriend, now-husband, Tony. Ted in one episode goes to see this movie more than once and, at one point, acts out something similar to it to his date while he is in the movie theatre.]]

* Similarly, the [[https://youtu.be/yrSfREtBjAs fifth DVD special]] of ''Anime/ShatteredAngels'' was a trailer for ''The True Kyoshiro To Towa No Sora'', a remake of the original series with a grander sci-fi plot and much more RomanticTwoGirlFriendship (with Kuu and Setsuna as the OfficialCouple). TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot, actually...

* ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'' has a trailer for ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTdk4lxkouI Corpse of Art]]'', an in-universe Japanese documentary that tells about the hardships jazz musicians face in the corporate and exploitative world of the victorious UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan in the Cold War setting.

* [[https://youtu.be/vchOGKIlUnA Here's]] one for ComicBook/KingdomCome.

* Creator/BobChipman made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLlRGzmARlo a trailer]] for a ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' movie, specifically a parody of what it would look like if it were done as a modern action blockbuster. He later included it as TheStinger to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjj3ZzR6sL0 his review]] of ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'', as if to say that that film was [[LifeImitatesArt the real-life version of that trailer]] (except with Creator/WarnerBros characters). He also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8hfIdukd3g made one]] for ''Videogame/SuperSmashBros''.

* There was a trailer for a live action ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' movie on the Volume 1 DVD.

Compare TrailerSpoof, which is for a real movie, just not the one you thought it was.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo639TwDE20 There's a whole series of fake trailers]] used by the AMC theater chain, to warn audiences to pipe down and turn off their personal electronics. Each one opens as expected for its genre (Main/{{Wuxia}} flick, Creator/{{Disney}} TalkingAnimal cartoon, etc), only to be derailed when a cell phone rings, distracting the characters at some critical moment. HilarityEnsues.
** Speaking of silencing your cell phone, a policy shown in Israel movie theaters called "Fatal Call" starts out like a movie trailer, but you know from the beginning, since it takes place in a movie theater. The trailer contains a girl who is eating popcorn when her cell phone rings, and a voice from the phone says "Sarah! You shouldn't have answered! You should have left your cell phone off!" Then, Sarah chokes on her popcorn. Ah...don't you just love happy endings?

** [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in [=SBEmail=] 206, when Strong Bad is listing various ways that the Internet has dumbed down April Fool's Day.

* A peculiar small subgenre are the ''Premakes'': using edited footage of mostly old movies, they try to recreate how a movie could have been if it was made a few decades earlier. Youtube user [[https://www.youtube.com/user/whoiseyevan Whoiseyevan]] has created the best examples, like WesternAnimation/{{Up}} [[https://youtu.be/ml9hAN5km14 as a 1965 live-action Disney movie]], Film/{{The Avengers|2012}} [[https://youtu.be/-fCTokuOU_E in 1952]] (before all team members except ComicBook/CaptainAmerica were even created), and Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack [[https://youtu.be/KmTpOQrqoO0 in 1950]]. The latter is particularly good before it takes from several movies that inspired StarWars firsthand. There are a few more Premakes around but not as good as these.

* The ''[[https://youtu.be/2Nznm3R66ds Battle]] [[https://youtu.be/NDbZtu7Kls0 Fantasia]]'' [[https://youtu.be/dCOo3fC5k3M series]] [[note]]not to be confused with an actual FightingGame called ''VideoGame/BattleFantasia''[[/note]], a set of trailers for a conceptual game franchise that's basically ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'', only instead of a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover of HumongousMecha, it's a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover of cute girls from {{Moe}} and series such as ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', ''LightNovel/MariaWatchesOverUs'', ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'', ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', ''Franchise/PrettyCure'', and ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero''. Many fanboys' hearts have been broken when they realized that the games shown aren't real.

* ''VideoGame/{{Minesweeper}} TheMovie'' [[https://youtu.be/LHY8NKj3RKs trailer]].

* Creator/BobChipman made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLlRGzmARlo a trailer]] for a ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' movie, specifically a parody of what it would look like if it were done as a modern action blockbuster. He later included it as TheStinger to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjj3ZzR6sL0 his review]] of ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'', as if to say that that film was [[LifeImitatesArt the real-life version of that trailer]] (except with Creator/WarnerBros characters).

* Creator/BobChipman made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLlRGzmARlo a trailer]] for a ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' movie done as a modern action blockbuster. He later included it as TheStinger to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjj3ZzR6sL0 his review]] of ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'', as if to say that that film was [[LifeImitatesArt the real-life version of that trailer]].

* Taco Bell has its annual, sometimes semi-annual, adverts for its Nacho Fries, all of which are fake movie trailers produced by "Live Más Productions" (a reference to Taco Bell's slogan), and each of them is an AffectionateParody of a different movie genre.

* ''Series/SchittsCreek'' has the characters view the trailer for Moira's comeback vehicle, ''The Crows Have Eyes III: The Crowening''.

This is the LogicalExtreme of NeverTrustATrailer - while that trope is about trailers misrepresenting various portions of a real film, this is about a trailer lying about an ''entire work.'' That being said... sometimes the trailer is so well-received that [[{{Defictionalization}} people actually make the movie]].

!!Intentional spoofs:

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Episode 8 of ''LightNovel/OokamiSan'' opens and closes with scenes from Ringo's take on "The Three Little Pigs", where the pigs are extra chubby terrorists who challenge our heroes to {{Cooking Duel}}s in an over-the-top fashion. It's only when Taro turns off the screen that we find out it was a video.

[[folder:Film]]
* All of the trailers in ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}'' (''Film/{{Machete}}'', ''Thanksgiving'', ''Don't!'', ''Film/HoboWithAShotgun'', and ''Werewolf Women of the SS''). In an unusual twist, both ''Machete'' and ''Hobo With a Shotgun'' got such a good reception that they [[{{Defictionalization}} were made into actual movies]]. And then Machete [[Film/MacheteKills got a sequel]], [[RecycledInSpace with another in the works]]. Creator/EliRoth is also currently working on a movie for his ''Thanksgiving'' trailer.

* The trailer for ''WebVideo/ItalianSpiderman'' has to be seen to be (dis)believed. SUSPENSO! It was so well-received that it was expanded into a series, presented as parts of a recently recovered copy of the full movie.

[[folder:Live-Action Television]]

* Kasabian put out [[https://youtu.be/iDpxJHblYEU a trailer for a 1970s Italian B-slasher film]] for their song "Vlad the Impaler." It starred Creator/NoelFielding as "Roman Tarasov."

* At the conclusion of the German version of Grobschnitt’s 1975 album ''Jumbo'' (originally released in English), drummer Eroc announces that the Russian-language version is coming soon.

[[folder:Stand-Up Comedy]]
* A trailer for the fake movie ''Buggery On The High Seas'' plays in the middle of the Creator/CheechAndChong sketch "Pedro And Man At The Drive-In" from the ''AudioPlay/LosCochinos'' album.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Originals]]

* There's a brutal parody of a DarkerAndEdgier ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' [[https://youtu.be/djRAiiFlCy8 here]]. And yet LifeImitatesArt with Series/{{Riverdale}}.

* This two-part trailer([[https://youtu.be/Lu5tJGfZsgc here]] and [[https://youtu.be/iU0Ivs55-Hw here]]), Creator/OrsonWelles' "The Bat-Man"), was inspired by a widely-circulated (and debunked) internet rumor that Orson Welles wanted to direct a Batman movie during the 40s. The trailer consists of clips from a 40s Batman serial, along with other movies (including ''Film/CitizenKane'' and ''Film/TheThirdMan''), casting Orson Welles as Bruce Wayne, Joseph Cotton as Jim Gordon, Edgar G. Robinson as the Penguin, Marlena Dietrich as Catwoman and Conrad Veidt (with clips of "Film/TheManWhoLaughs"--ironically, the original inspiration for the character) as the Joker.

[[folder:Web Originals]]
* There is someone trying to make a [[https://youtu.be/5Bj_oymzfzg Final Fight]] movie, though he just needs the budget apparently to make it work. From the looks of the trailer it looks like he could do it.

* The excellent [[https://vimeo.com/11191780 ''Pyrats'' animation]] was a final project for an animation school in Paris. It will never be a movie, but it looks like a trailer (and people have reported that they would like to go and see it).

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Music]]

* ''Anime/MaiOtome'' had [[https://youtu.be/Vs8rO8UICT0 a fake trailer]] on the [=DVDs=] for the ''Anime/MaiHime'' movie. Many people on [=AnimeSuki=] and Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} don't realize that it's a joke and keep asking when the movie will be released despite the release date being listed as ''20006'' [sic].

* [[https://youtu.be/--J0yitgw8s A fan trailer]] for a potential third Film/{{Tron}} movie made excellent use of the ''Film/TronLegacy'' DVD extras, a couple clips of Film/{{Inception}}, some sizzle reel promo footage for ''Legacy,'' the Music/DaftPunk "Derezzed" video, and cutscene footage from ''VideoGame/TronEvolution'' to set up a scenario where Dillinger Junior (a bit character in ''Legacy'') is being used by a resurrected Master Control to wreak havoc.

* The ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' fanfic ''FanFic/AllThingsTrulyWicked'', that deviates from the end of the episode "Free Fall", in which Spencer's assumption that [[BigBad "A"]] is [[PaedoHunt Ezra Fitz]] was [[WhatIf entirely correct]], had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsnOSq1MIAo a trailer]] created by one of the work's readers.

* The ''[[https://youtu.be/2Nznm3R66ds Battle]] [[https://youtu.be/NDbZtu7Kls0 Fantasia]]'' [[https://youtu.be/dCOo3fC5k3M series]] [[note]]not to be confused with an actual FightingGame called ''VideoGame/BattleFantasia''[[/note]], a set of trailers for a conceptual game franchise that's basically VideoGame/SuperRobotWars, only instead of a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover of HumongousMecha, it's a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover of cute girls from {{Moe}} and series such as ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', ''LightNovel/MariaWatchesOverUs'', ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'', ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', ''Franchise/PrettyCure'', and ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero''. Many fanboys' hearts have been broken when they realized that the games shown aren't real.

* VideoGame/DonkeyKong: [[https://youtu.be/P9vp6bllUGo The Movie]].

* [[Creator/JamesRolfe Cinemassacre]] created [[https://youtu.be/Pi3_OGnROMo a trailer]] for a movie adaptation of the notoriously bad VideoGame/DrJekyllAndMrHyde NES game that was famously reviewed by WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd.

* [[https://youtu.be/fWL6j0SvqV0 Pac-Man]] the Movie.
* [[https://youtu.be/VE_1KlWFJyA Tetris]] has [[https://youtu.be/AhwGEa7507g several]] fake trailers.
* [[https://youtu.be/F4iTWaYM7q4 Luigi's Mansion]] got a trailer as well.
* This April Fools trailer for a ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' mobile game called [[https://youtu.be/W3TtRfeDrE0 Splatoon Island]] is extraordinarily well-made, not only building the entirety of the "gameplay" and animations from the ground up, but also using original character designs, models, and music. Despite clearly labeling itself as an April Fools video, the fanbase was buzzing about the trailer for ''months'', wishing the game could be real.

* The ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' episode "Popcorn Pandemonium" involves Rocko and Heffer going to a movie theater, where they see trailers for "Enter the Rodent Part VII: Not Before I've Had My Coffee" (a poorly-dubbed kung-fu movie featuring a gerbil); "The Doo" (a movie about an evil hairdo); "Little Poots" (a movie about little cloud-shaped creatures wearing toilet rolls on their heads, which crosses over with Really Really Big Man); "Das Poot" (a sequel to the former, about the Little Poots on a World War II submarine); "Garbage Strike: The Musical" (ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin - a musical about a garbage strike) and "Dracula: Done to Death" (a movie where vampire hunters come to kill Dracula, only to discover that he's already been staked).