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Ship Tease / Live-Action Films

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Ship Tease in live-action movies.

  • Kick-Ass 2 blatantly teases the titular character and Mindy/Hit-Girl. They even kiss at the end. Although since they are pretty much already the Fan-Preferred Couple, and the film sinks the formerly official couple of Dave/Katie in a throwaway scene, it's possible they are being set up to end up together when the series concludes.
  • Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (2010) contains surprisingly sweet moments with Alice and the Mad Hatter. It helps that Alice is now 19-ish, and the Hatter is played by Johnny Depp. Turning himself in to buy her more time is obviously quite useful, but that doesn't explain Alice taking extreme care to return his beat-up top hat and personally busting him out of jail.
    • Incidentally, the cast members at one of Disney's theme parks like to tease Alice/Hatter as well.
    • The Sci-Fi Original Movie/Mini Series of Alice gives tease for this pairing for a few days before making it canon.
  • Harry Potter: How much false hope can you fill the Harmonians with, David Yates? After Ron's gone in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry dances with Hermione just to cheer her up. One might think that if Ron had not come back in time, they would have ended up together. Okay, Harry would have drowned in the icy water before they'd have made out.
    • Deathly Hallows is not the only movie to blame, by far. Almost all of the movies have added scenes—scenes that weren't in the books—that tease at a romantic relationship between the two. Until the sixth movie, there were arguably more Harry/Hermione scenes than Ron/Hermione scenes (hell, the fifth movie had arguably the most Harmonian torment out of the lot, possibly only rivalled by Goblet of Fire).
    • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has by far the most Harmonian-friendly moments in all of the movies. While it was shown in the other movies, it was the fifth installment that really got the Harry/Hermione fans going. In fact, at the height of the movies (and even today), if you were to look up a Harmony fanfic, chances are it is set during - or based off - a moment from OOTP.
    • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has Ron get a bit of tease with Fleur and her sister Gabrielle, though Deathly Hallows is quick to sink that one (and it wasn't a thing in the books). Similarly, Hagrid gets quite a bit of it with the Veela giantess Olympe Maxime, but sadly nothing really comes of it.
    • The second Deathly Hallows film puts in a couple of brief-but-amazing scenes to tease the Neville/Luna shippers. "Have you seen Luna? I'm mad about her! About time I told her, since we're both probably going to be dead by dawn." FANGASM.
    • Harry/Luna is teased a little bit in Order of the Phoenix with an oddly romantic hand-holding shot near the end.
  • The Pirates of the Caribbean films were frequently teasing with Jack/Elizabeth, especially their kiss near the end of the second film.
  • Inception had Arthur tricking Ariadne into kissing him.
  • Aliens has quite a few, probably benefiting from the fact that they didn't have an official couple. The most obvious is Ripley and Hicks and Word of God has confirmed that James Cameron imagined the two of them and Newt becoming a family. Ripley also gets a bit of teasing with Hudson during the scene where he gives her his Badass Boast. She looks both uncomfortable and... slightly turned on. There's also a ton of subtext going on between Vasquez and Drake.
  • In Stuart Little 2, Stuart and Margalo show great affection and protection for one another. There is even a part where the two watch a movie and Margalo snuggles into Stuart's arm.
  • While they were already shipped together by fans Jean Valjean and Fantine from Les Misérables (2012) get an extra dose in the 2012 version especially thanks to Age Lift making them closer in age compared to book and broadway show where Valjean is a older man.
  • Dead Poets Society has some of this between Neil and Todd (shared glances, the "flying desk set" scene, Todd's reaction to Neil's death, et cetera.)
  • In A Knight's Tale, Jocelyn's handmaiden Christiana and Roland appear to get along very well and there are several scenes in the movie where they are sitting and chatting happily in the background.
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe
    • The MCU is almost infamous for Ho Yay shipping (e.g Tony/Bruce, Thor/Loki, Cap/Bucky) see the page for more.
    • Black Widow immediately completed her mission the second Coulson told her that Hawkeye was compromised in The Avengers (2012). Also, when Hawkeye was recovering from Loki's brainwashing, Natasha consoles him and then displays some of her most emotional expressions around him. Not to mention in The Stinger, she lets Clint prop one of his legs on her chair. He's also the only person to call her by a nickname, usually Nat or Tasha. It's left ambiguous whether their relationship is Platonic Life-Partners or something more.
      • In Avengers: Age of Ultron, it turns out that Clint has a wife and kids and Natasha is his kids' Honorary Aunt and is head over heels about Bruce Banner of all people. Cue Clintasha shippers' collective screams of rage. Especially since prior to that film, no mention was ever made of Clint having a family.
    • Speaking of Black Widow, the ship tease is even more blatant between her and Captain America in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, with her teasing him constantly about his love life—or lack thereof—and kissing technique, asking him specifically what he would like her to be, and kissing him twice: one under cover, and a small peck on the cheek during the end of the movie. The entire thing may have been unintentional, but a good amount of movie pundits made mention of the chemistry between the two. Even Entertainment Weekly took notice.
    • Scarlet Witch and Vision. Upon Vision's birth in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Wanda is the first thing he sees, and she is shown checking him out as he speaks to Thor. At the end of the movie, he goes back to rescue her from the falling city, and upon catching her, they stare into each other's eyes for a moment, and she keeps staring as he flies off. Then in Captain America: Civil War, Vision is helping Wanda out with her esteem issues and tries to lift her spirits by cooking a meal he knows she'd like, and becomes very protective over her. After Wanda is downed in the airport fight, he immediately goes to her and apologizes to her that it's come to this. By Avengers: Infinity War, they have firmly become an Official Couple.
    • The idea of Thor and Sif was intentionally teased in Thor, as the people who worked on the film wanted to be able to have the option of writing Thor/Sif into the sequels, should they later want to.
    Jaimie Alexander: (about Thor and Sif) But there is a reason that we sort of subtly hinted to it in the first film. Just so that there is a door. If we want to go through that door, we can. They like to cover all their bases at Marvel.
    • Tony and Aunt May (who has gotten a Age Lift from the comics) get a bit of this, until Pepper comes back in Homecoming.
    • In Thor: Ragnarok both Jane and Sif are dropped as Thor potential love interests in favour having of teasing him with Valkyrie who has Belligerent Sexual Tension with him right off the bat.
    • In Spider-Man: Homecoming Peter is subtly shipped with the aloof Michele Jones aka MJ.
    • Out-of-Universe Tom Holland who plays Spider-Man expressed interest in being paired with other Teen Genius Shuri Black Panther's little sister. In turn Letitia Wright who plays Shuri when asked in the second Avengers Family Feud who she'd take to the prom... she picked Spider-Man.
    • In Avengers: Endgame Thor in true Amazon Chaser fashion states that he likes Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel when she doesn’t even flinch at him summoning Stormbreaker past her head. Carol also has a subtle smile on her face after Thor tests her.
  • Done intentionally in TRON: Legacy where the romance between Sam and Quorra is downplayed to a big Ship Tease to carefully avert being Strangled by the Red String.
  • In Pride and Prejudice, there was a brief scene where it appeared that Mary was giving a Longing Look at Mr. Collins after he was rejected by Elizabeth and was left standing in the kitchen. Also, she seemed like the only one who could stand Mr Collins' presence.
    • This was present in the original novel, and has cropped up in almost every adaptation of the work, especially in the 1995 BBC miniseries.
  • Bert from Mary Poppins is quite fond of Mary and it seemed that they have some sort of history between them. When they sing a duet together, it's rather adorable.
  • Bond and Eve in Skyfall had a few flirtatious moments together, particularly the shaving scene. It turns out that Eve's full name is Eve Moneypenny.
  • Flint and Lady Jaye in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, as a nod to their relationship in the comics and cartoon.
  • Star Trek Into Darkness: Between Carol and McCoy, when Kirk drafts Bones into helping her open one of the torpedos.
    • There is a brief shot when Khan beams Scotty, Carol and Kirk into the cell, while Scotty is yelling for the guard, Kirk cups the injured Carol's face in an "are you all right?" gesture.
  • DC Extended Universe:
    • Man of Steel has the strange and intense Foe Romance Subtext between Faora and Colonel Hardy (that was likely unintentional). Hardy has a somewhat awed look on his face when he first sees Faora and she can’t take her eyes off him either. Later on during the battle of Smallville she has a Pet the Dog moment with him smiling when she sees him and saying “A good death is it’s own reward” and responds to his gesture of pulling out a knife by taking out her own. In the climax when Faora fails to stop Hardy’s Heroic Sacrifice by trapping them in the Phantom Zone, she has surprised Villain Respect-ful expression on her face at his self-sacrifice. Also considering the nature of the Phantom Zone it’s possible they’re still alive.
    • Similar to the animated series Batman and Wonder Woman have Ship Tease moments in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League (2017) in the latter film Bruce and Diana essentially become Team Dad and Team Mom of the JL. It's done even more explicitely in Zack Snyder's Justice League, with the two most frequently having each others backs out of most of the team, closer interaction, and a clear value for each other that seems to go beyond just being teammates.
    • Deadshot and Harley Quinn get a few moments in Suicide Squad (2016), including a outright Bridal Carry. Just like the comics and other media, Deadshot tends to be seen by fans as a much better romantic alternative for Harley than the abusive and manipulative Joker.
    • Aquaman and Mera have this in their scene in Justice League, then his solo movie they go through Slap-Slap-Kiss until becoming a Official Couple at the end.
    • Billy Batson and Mary Bromfield in SHAZAM! (2019). It's clear that he's got a crush on her, even saving her from getting run over as his superpowered alter ego, and she warms up to him by the end of the movie. This all due to getting a Adaptation Relationship Overhaul from the comics, in which they're biologically brother and sister, while in the movie they are just adoptive siblings.
  • With Daniel Atlas and Henley Reeves in Now You See Me, who were apparently involved at one point in the past; Henley actually got her start as a magician through working as Daniel's assistant. In their final scene, they join hands before hopping on the carousel.
    • Dylan and Alma, who interacted a lot during the investigation and they had an Almost Kiss before eventually sharing a small kiss. She would become the Secret-Keeper when Dylan revealed who he is and his role with framing Bradley.
  • Similar to Black Widow and Hawkeye, Raleigh and Mako from Pacific Rim has many Ship Tease scenes, including a Headbutt of Love near the end, though it's left uncertain whether they are Just Friends, Platonic Life-Partners or something more.
  • Nightcrawler and Storm in X2: X-Men United. It doubles in content if you read the novelisation.
    Nightcrawler: I'm not going anywhere, Ororo.
    Storm: I like it when you say my name...
    Nightcrawler: I like saying your name...
  • Maleficent: Given that it's a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Ship Tease for Phillip/Aurora is to be expected. Besides the Love at First Sight and True Love's Kiss (even though it didn't work), there's a scene at the end where Aurora smiles at him and pulls him in for a dance.
  • Street Kings has a one-sided Ship Tease of James Biggs/Tom Ludlow, Internal Affairs Captain Biggs and the protagonist, Vice Detective Ludlow. Ludlow's captain Wander comments on it, saying to Biggs: "You like Tom, don't you? I saw the way you watched him when he came in. That's why you follow him around."
  • The Hobbit seems to be riddled with Ship Tease for Galadriel and Gandalf, particularly in this scene where they seem to come across as either Star-Crossed Lovers or in Gandalf's case All Love Is Unrequited.
    • Actually, Guillermo del Toro, who was supposed to direct The Hobbit-films, wrote that scene into to script and created the romantic tension between them on purpose, because he was a Shipper on Deck regarding Galadriel and Gandalf.
    • Almost certainly enhanced in the third film where Gandalf is pleading with her to go with him, even going so far as to hold her hand. The anguished look on her face as she pulls her hand away only makes the tease between them stronger.
    • Peter Jackson also thought that Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen were quite the couple offscreen and that Ian would almost go running straight for the closet for her. He wasn't wrong, either.
    • A long-running fairly popular fan theory posits that Gandalf (or Olórin to use his true Maia name) first encountered Galadriel (or Artanis, as she was known as then) as a young elf princess in the holy land of Valinor where they both originally lived, and has basically been secretly in love with her for thousands of years. Let's face it, it's not unheard of for a Maia to fall in love with an Elf, look at Melian and Thingol. Those two even wed, ruled a kingdom and had a child together!
  • The Secret Garden: Subtly so between Mary and Dickon. At one point they share a Held Gaze, to the point Colin gets jealous and shouts at them to divert their attention.
  • The Hunger Games:
    • Glimmer and Cato are seen cuddling while they sleep.
    • Katniss, urged on by Haymitch, uses this trope for all it's worth during the later parts of the game by pretending to fall in love with Peeta in order to gain sponsors.
  • The Hunger Games: Catching Fire does this with Katniss and Gale. There is a romantic angle between the two of them in the novel, although it's mostly one-sided with Gale being in love with Katniss and Katniss being confused and not wanting to hurt him and lose her closest friend, while falling in love with Peeta. The movie had many people believe they were a couple, including confessions of feelings and kisses that never happened in the book.
  • In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Haymitch and Effie have developed a weird and yet completely in-character flirtation, as they confess to liking each other via a series of hilariously backhanded compliments, each pointing out the absence of flaws that they disliked in one another before.
    Haymitch: I like you better without all the make-up.
    Effie: Well, I like you better sober.
  • In Ghostbusters (2016), Dr. Jillian Holtzmann is not too subtly flirting with Dr. Erin Gilbert for the vast majority of the film, despite being The Gadfly. She seems most fixated on Erin's well-being despite having just barely met her, such as when she lets her test some weapons out first after a long day, and giving Erin her own Swiss Army Knife. For her part, Erin doesn't quite reciprocate but she does seem pretty flattered by Holtzmann's flirting (which ranges from seductive winks and grins to a full-on dance to DeBarge's "Rhythm of the Night"). To kick it all off, Holtzmann introduces herself to Erin with a pick-up line ("Come here often?").
    • A deleted scene makes the flirting more explicit by having Holtzmann introduce Erin to her mentor as her girlfriend... much to Erin's surprise, who promptly claims otherwise. It's up to the viewer whether this would count as Ship Sinking, outright denial on Erin's part (Abby certainly seems to think so) or Holtzmann and Erin not exactly being on the same page yet.
  • The Force Awakens has this with several characters, but perhaps the most charged is the one between Rey and Kylo Ren. Their encounters are intense and intimate, with them sharing in many a Held Gaze as they peer into each other's mind or fight to the seeming death. The Reylo fandom was hooked, picking up as many hints and allusions as they could gleam. And in The Last Jedi it's barely teasing anymore, with Rey and Kylo declaring that neither will be alone right before explicit hand touching action along with many other moments that would need their own page to hold them all. The final movie The Rise of Skywalker makes it canon, albeit Kylo dies.
  • The Wizard of Oz was at one point going to have a romance between Dorothy and the farmhand Hunk, the Kansas equivalent of the Scarecrow. While that plot line was cut, the finished film still has moments of special affection between Dorothy and the Scarecrow - most obviously her line near the end, "I think I'll miss you most of all." A cut verse of "If I Only Had a Brain" (included on the soundtrack) even has the Scarecrow sing to Dorothy that if he had a brain, "Then perhaps I'd deserve you/and be even worthy erv you".
  • Edge of Tomorrow: Between William Cage and Rita Vrataski, though their relationship development is largely one-sided since he's in a time loop and she isn't. Cage becomes increasingly attached to Rita as he gets to know her more, and has a Heroic BSoD after she willingly lets herself die at the farmhouse, despite his protests that she always dies there no matter how much he tries to save her. They share a brief Now or Never Kiss before Cage destroys the Omega, and their relationship ends on a Maybe Ever After.
  • Mad Max: Fury Road: While no explicit scenes are shown to confirm Max and Furiosa feeling attracted to each other, the movie is definitely open to that interpretation, with moments such as when Furiosa asks Max to come with the Vuvalini, or Max cradling her when she nearly dies from blood loss and talking to her in a gentle tone he's not heard using for anyone else.
  • Werewolves Within: The film heavily ships Finn and Cecily, mainly in the Axe Den scene when they spend time together hanging around. They even Almost Kiss. Sadly, she's the werewolf, and also reveals it was just a plot, never having felt anything really for Finn.
  • Avatar: The Way of Water teases Jake's son Lo'ak with Tsireya, The Chief's Daughter of the Metkayina tribe. The two are shown to be especially close and Tsireya supports him even when no one else will, but nothing is confirmed in this film. With at least one sequel already in the can, though, this will likely be followed up on in the future.
  • Miss Marple: Occasionally, Miss Marple and Mr. Stringer appear to be flirting, such as when he attracts the attention of a woman he'd been sent to distract and Miss Marple teases him over it. Every movie ends with the two driving off together in various vehicles; Murder, She Said even ends with the two driving off in a car on which a mischievous boy has just placed a "Just Married" sign! Probably a justified example given Margaret Rutherford and Stringer Davis, the two actors portraying the characters, were a married couple in real life.

Alternative Title(s): Film

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