History Main / SpoilerOpening

* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' did this in Season 6, including Desmond's actor, Henry Ian Cusick in the credits all season, long before his eventual "surprise" appearance.
** Although considering the fact that the creators pretty much told everyone before the season started that the actor would be returning, this may have been their way of keeping the surprise of WHEN they were returning rather than THAT they were returning.
** ''Lost'' has done this several times-someone gets shot and is left for dead, yet remains in the credits. Oh, I wonder if they'll survive! And they once did it with that same actor-the character ran off. Of course, the surprise once again was ''when'' he would return. Given this happened at the end of an episode that was otherwise amusing filler, mission accomplished, Darlton.
** Though it should be noted that an actor still appearing in the credits of this show doesn't necessarily mean they're still alive, as the dead characters in ''Lost'' often show up in dreams/hallucinations or as "ghosts".
*** Especially after, in season 5, Locke's actor Terry O'Quinn remains in the credits and continues to appear after his death... but then we find out that it's not him and he's been dead all season.
*** In Season 6, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim and Zuleikha Robinson all remain in the credits after their characters are killed.

[[folder:Film]]
* The OntologicalMystery of ''Film/DarkCity'' is spoiled by the OpeningMonologue, which is taken from a scene halfway through the movie. (ExecutiveMeddling mandated the addition of the voiceover.) Future viewers: Do yourself a favour and watch the directors cut, which omits the monologue.
* Averted in ''{{Sleuth}}'', which deliberately features an opening cast list which proves to be wildly inaccurate.
* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'''s opening also serves, but is kinda ambiguous to those without knowledge of the American Army: the old man is wearing a pin of the 101st Airborne (Screaming Eagles), and Ryan was the only principal character in the film in that division.
* Averted in ''Film/{{Se7en}}'': the actor playing John Doe is [[SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer missing from the opening credits]] instead receiving the first credit at the ending.

* TheMockbuster ''Paranormal Entity'' takes this to extremes. Three minutes into the film, it is revealed that the protagonist's sister is dead, he went to jail for her murder, he hung himself, and then his mother (who got possessed) [[KillEmAll hung herself too]]. The remaining 87 minutes of the film are ''[[AntiClimax pointless]]''.
* The opening credits of ''Film/GoldenEye'' make it fairly plain that we haven't seen the last of Sean Bean, despite his character being "killed" before the credits even rolled.
* This is avoided in the opening of ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock''...but there is an extra long pause between WilliamShatner's credit and [=DeForest=] Kelley's where Nimoy's name would normally appear.
* Want to watch ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks'' and not know the ending? Stop watching the opening credits when Donald [=McKayle=] is credited for the choreography!
* In the film adaptation of ''Film/{{Eragon}}'', along with being almost nothing like the book, the audience is informed of the fact that Arya is a princess during the opening narration and plot set up. A fact that readers didn't find out about until halfway through the second book.

* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''{{Rango}}''. The owls say he'll die, implicitly at some point during the storyline. At the end, when it hasn't happened, one owl suggests he might die from a household accident. At some point after the timeframe of the movie.
* In the film ''Horsemen'' (starring Dennis Quaid), Ziyi Zhang has second billing in the opening credits. Even if you didn't recognize the name, the fact that she's the only Asian actor in the movie gives away the fact that her character is more than she seems to be when she is first introduced.
* The opening narration of ''Film/MoulinRouge'' by Christian clearly states "the woman I loved is dead."
* The opening narration of ''Film/{{Hop}}'' spoils the fact that the main human character becomes the first human easter bunny. This concept isn't introduced untill a little before the climax, after a movie of basically nothing happening.
* The German version of Music/TheWho's ''Tommy'' has an opening narration that states "Tommy can not be dubbed!" in this exact words. The narrator then proceeds to give an overview of the films plot which means he gives away every plot twist until the very last moment of the film as if he was reading the synopsis off of Wikipedia. The narration also plays over the first two minutes of the film where Tommy's parents meet until the start of the war and cancels out any music. Then the movie proceeds with subtitles, making the inclusion of the narrator completely pointless.
* The opening several minutes of ''{{Film/Melancholia}}'' play out the entire plot in a series of stylized images.
* In Wreck-It Ralph, it was a huge twist reveal that King Candy is in fact Turbo, and is the villain of the piece, having broken into Sugar Rush, usurped the throne, and re-written all the citizens memories to make them oblivious. But then Disney released their "Villains" O-ring line with slip-covers depicting the villain of each movie, and lo and behold, they went and put King Candy on the cover. So the big twist reveal of the whole damn movie is now ON THE COVER.

* StephenieMeyer managed to spoil ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'''s plot twist on the back of the book. Then again, Edward being a vampire is the entire premise, so it's not like anyone picked the book up without already knowing the twist.

* ''MissionImpossible''. The old tv series' opening credits has a montage of basically every major plot point for the episode. Of course, the viewer has no idea what any of it means at that point.

* ''TheWire'' had some AMAZING opening credits sequences (due mostly in part to the various renditions of "Way Down in the Hole" over some really jarring montages) that occasionally would drop scenes that you're looking for the entire season (if you watched it all on DVD). While you can't tell it's Stringer's hand unzipping D'Angelo's baby mama in the credits it did seem a little weird when it finally happened.
* ''{{Space1999}}'' ruins the quite serviceable level of tension built up in the first episode because the credit sequence declares that [[SpaceDoesNotWorkThatWay the Moon is going to be blown completely out of the Solar System]].

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' / ''{{Angel}}''

* The Season 8 opening to ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'' spoiled the return of Pearl Forrester (at the end of the first episode) and the "chase across the galaxy" storyline (several episodes in). This is probably because season 8 was really the only season to have a ''plot'', at the insistence of [[ExecutiveMeddling Sci-Fi Channel execs]]. It should also be noted that, when the episode originally aired, it didn't have that opening. It showed Mike and certain Bots returning from the edge of the universe and that was it.

** Each episode's title sequence ends with a montage of scenes from the current episode, wilfully courting this trope. WordOfGod is that the montages were introduced in homage to ''{{Space1999}}'', which did the same.

* In one episode of ''LawAndOrder SVU'' we see Kal Penn's name at the end of the credits. when he appears in the background of a later scene [[NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognise you already know that he'll be pretty important.]]

* ''{{Lost}}'' did this in Season 6, including Desmond's actor, Henry Ian Cusick in the credits all season, long before his eventual "surprise" appearance.

* Second-season ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'' episodes featuring the returns of Sherry Palmer and Nina Myers featured the actors' names in the opening credits. By the end of the season, they began leaving out returning actors' credits until the reveal.

* Averted in the UK version of ''WhoWantsToBeASuperhero'', where for episode one (which shows the auditions for the show) the silhouettes of the chosen thirteen are seen with question marks.
* Averted (sort of) in ''HomeAndAway'' where Noah is still credited despite the fact Sarah Lewis shot him dead in the previous episode. This was to hide the identity of who had been shot and only reveal it in the episode. That and Noah does appear in that episode (though it's his ghost and only Hayley can see/speak to him) and the next one. It isn't until after then the credits are altered.

* ''{{Spooks}}'' averted the trope in much the same way, by having Rupert Penry-Jones appear in all the publicity for Season 7, including doing extensive interviews, appearing in first place in the titles, in group shots etc. His character was killed off in Episode One, and it was a HELL of a shock.

* Similarly averted in the second season of ''VeronicaMars'', where Duncan's brief cameo in the season finale, where it's revealed that he ordered the execution of Aaron Echolls, was a surprise largely because he hadn't been removed from the opening credits after he was written out. As if to make up for this, in the third season finale the reveal that Jake Kane is the head of The Castle (Neptune's secret society) is undercut by having Kyle Secor listed as a Special Guest Star at the start of the episode.

* The opening monologue in the latter episodes of series 6 of ''{{Shameless}}'' shows the dramatic season-ending Mandy-killing explosion, which somewhat undercuts the suspense of the final episode when Mandy is desperately trying to stop Maureen from lighting a match to blow up her house.
* Another British example from ''{{Misfits}}'' - the opening episode features six teenagers starting their community service on the same day. All of the promotion materials and the opening credits feature five of those teenagers. Guess who gets hacked to pieces with an axe 20 minutes into the first episode! Also potentially with Nathan's 'superpower' - the first few episodes haven't shown his power, and his curiousity over what ability he'll get is a running subplot. Except that the opening credits show animations of everyone's power, including his.

* ''{{NCIS}}'' spoils the introduction of two of their main characters: The opening credits for the very first episode features Sasha Alexander, spoiling the surprise of her joining at the end of the episode (it could count as a Late Arrival Spoiler, but it wasn't when the episode first aired), while the opening credits for the fourth episode of season three show Cote de Pablo, before her character is reintroduced and made a part of the team.
* The season 2 opening of ''PrisonBreak'' changes the opening credits such that it's fairly obvious which characters won't be returning.

* During the ''SchlossEinstein'' title song, short video clips of the major kid characters are played. (The title sequence is the same for all the episodes of a given series.) Sometimes, who is in the title sequence spoils the resolution of a plot line. For instance:

* The Season 3 opening ''{{Warehouse13}}'' shows Myka and lists Joanne Kelley in the credits sequence while listing Aaron Ashmore as a guest star. It pretty much guarantees Myka's not gone permanently, and Steve is not going to last.
* {{Chuck}} season 2 episode 2, mentions that it's going to guest star Matt Bomer, who shows up at the end of the episode as a massive surprise! Unless you paid attention to the opening credits.

* In the Season 1 opening of {{Oz}} is a shot of someone wearing the mask and restraints of a prisoner about to be executed. Though his face is hidden, we can clearly see a "MOM" tattoo on his hand.
* Season one of Series/TheOuterLimits frequently had previews of the episode before the opening sequence. These previews often gave away important plot points or the appearance of monsters that the actual episode slowly built up revealing.

* An episode of ''LawAndOrder'' reveals Ned Beatty as a guest star. When he shows up as the trial judge for the case of the week, you already know that his character is going to have significance to the plot beyond sitting on the bench and ruling on a few objections.

* The first season of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' showed clips from the current episode during its opening, occasionally spoiling plot points.
* Likewise, an animated FunnyAnimal version of ''AdventuresOfOliverTwist'' features a montage of all the plot points from an episode, from beginning to ending, put just before the episode begins.

* The theme song for ''TotalDramaAction'' features Courtney, who came back halfway through to the surprise of the castmates and (maybe) Chris. However, the flipbook itself had no intention of this ever being a spoiler.

* The Japanese opening of ''TransformersAnimated'' spoils Longarm being a Decepticon, Blackarachnia commanding the Dinobots, and Starscream's Allspark fragment and clones. However, there's also so much stuff that [[BaitAndSwitchCredits simply doesn't happen]] that it's hard for a new viewer to tell what's important and what isn't.

* The opening of TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 spoils that Darius Dun, initially a minor supporting character, is the BigBad (he is seen looming over all the other villains).

** Similar to the aforementioned ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' series, right before the show's logo is viewed, each ''Young Justice'' episode's opening contains a quick display of clips which previews events that occur later in whichever episode is airing at the moment which is at least less spoilery because of the rapid speed the images flash on the screen.
* In ''ReBoot'' every four episodes of season 3 had an opening sequence using clips from those four episodes. Naturally plot developments like Enzo's TimeSkip, the Saucy Mare's web armor, and Mainframe in ruins are spoiled. Averted with the {{Toonami}} broadcast, which replaced those openings with customized ones.
* The opening credits for TheSecretSaturdays features the Saturdays being charged by a quartet of villains. While one of them, Piecemeal, shows up relatively early in episode 4, the others are Eterno, a one-shot villain who doesn't show up for several more episodes, Rani Naga, who also doesn't appear until almost the end of the season, and Shoji Fuzen, who appears in episode 3, but is wearing blue samurai armor he won't don until many episodes later.
* ''JackieChanAdventures'': The intro for season 2 showed that Valmont would be possessed by Shendu for season 2.
** Even before Valmont and his three last Enforcers (Finn, Ratso and Chow) met Daolon Wong, Season 3 intro revealed the Enforcers becoming Wong's Dark Chi Warriors and it did not feature Valmont, revealing the latter wouldn't appear as often as he did the previous story arcs.

[[folder:WebOriginal]]
* The fourth season of ''Series/FlandersCompany'' has Clara appearing in the credits along the other employees, [[spoiler: completely spoiling both her return and her HeelFaceTurn]].
* The first season of ''RedVsBlue'' had Tex appearing in the credits... along with ''her'' voice actor. There goes the plot twist that [[SamusIsAGirl Tex Is a Girl]]. Has since fallen into ItWasHisSled territory.
* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', it takes several episodes before the titular military team is formed, and there is much angst on the protagonist's part as she wonders who she will be partnered with...which is all well and good, except for the part where three other girls are prominently depicted in the intro, even fighting alongside her in one scene. (The other characters aren't given half so much screentime.) The DVD cover also spoils this plot point, describing Ruby's teammates in detail and showing them in a suitably badass pose.
** The intro also depicts Cinder in an ObviouslyEvil fashion- surrounded by flames and minions- which is odd, as she only appears in the season finale's [[TheStinger stinger]].
[[/folder]]

* The credits for the second-to-last episode of ''BreakingBad'', Granite State, reveal the return of [[spoiler: Gretchen and Elliot, the latter of whom had not been seen since season one.]]

* Want to watch ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks'' and not know ahead of time that it ends with a Nazi invasion fought off by animate suits of armor? Stop watching the opening credits when Donald [=McKayle=] is credited for the choreography!
** Hey, spoiler alert! You could have just said "not know the ending..."

* The fourth season of Series/FlandersCompany has Clara appearing in the credits along the other employees, [[spoiler: completely spoiling both her return and her HeelFaceTurn]].

* The 2005 stage musical ''Willy Wonka'' is a ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' adaptation that's TruerToTheText than the [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory 1971 film version]] but uses its songs. The opening scene takes place in the factory, with Willy Wonka the first character the audience meets, and he goes on to reveal that he's planning to retire, but not before he finds an heir. In the book and '''all other adaptations''', he does not appear until the other characters arrive at the factory for the Golden Ticket tour and TheReveal that he's been seeking an heir all along is the climax of the story. While the story is well-known and [[CharlieAndtheChocolateParody parodied]] enough to qualify as ItWasHisSled, and Mr. Wonka ''is'' the most memorable character in it, this opening not only spoils the whole show, but negates the attempts in subsequent scenes to build up any mystery surrounding Mr. Wonka.

* ''Extremely common'' in American TV series produced in the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly crime and action-adventure series. Pre-credit sequences frequently consisted of montages of scenes from the episode, sometimes including surprisingly major spoilers.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' shows in its original intro that yes, Captain America survived getting thrown into an icy sea. His debut episode tried to make it seem ambiguous. It also shows Hank Pym becoming Giant-Man, an ability he doesn't demonstrate until his second appearance (chronologically speaking) , episodes set before the founding of the Avengers show eight members in the intro's TeamShot, revealing that Hawkeye won't remain an enemy of the heroes for long.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' shows in its original intro that yes, Captain America survived getting thrown into an icy sea. His debut episode tried to make it seem ambiguous.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''. Just pay attention to the first 5 seconds of the opening, and you will get spoiled with one of the biggest plot twist in the whole series...

** ''BirthBySleep'' does this one straight '''''AND''''' [[InvertedTrope inverts]] it. In a typical fashion, the opening is symbolic of the events that transpire (though most of the symbolism will likely go over your head until beating it), but the true spoilers come from the credits. The game is split into three stories, however they can be done in any order. The cast listing reveals Richard Epcar as Terra-Xehanort and Haley Joel Osment as Vanitas. This gets even more ridiculous as the former only appears in Terra's story (not counting the Final Episode), and Vanitas's actor corresponds with his face, which is only revealed in Ven's, so there is no order to play the story in that avoids this. Thankfully the credits are skipable and (apart from the Final Episode's) lacks [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic "Simple and Clean."]]

* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' does this ''magnificently,'' in that anyone who has beaten the game will notice that the opening goes through the entire plot. It shows Joshua, the two Shikis, Rhyme's fate (and hints at the reason for her and Beat's deaths), Kitaniji's plan for Instrumentality, the reason for (and place of) Neku's death. Meanwhile, anyone new to the game will simply think it's cool.

* The opening for ''CorpseParty'' spoils among others Seiko's death by hanging.
* In ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'''s opening movie, a few brief images of Leon's execution are visible.

* ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}''[='s=] opening spoils Raiden when in fact you begin to play the game as Solid Snake.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker''[='s=] opening shows every main character and the 4 A.I. weapons, including Peace Walker itself.

* ''RedVsBlue'' had Tex appearing in the credits ... along with ''her'' voice actor. There goes the plot twist that [[SamusIsAGirl Tex Is a Girl]].

* ''BatenKaitos''... well, let us put it this way. If you wish to enjoy the actual plot, hit Start the instant the opening begins.

** ''Persona 3 Portable'''s Opening also has the obligatory spoilers. Memento Mori is still there, but the very last shot of the opening is Minato and the Female Protagonist preparing to use their evokers while a field of Dark Hour Coffins rush by in the background. Just before the final shot, each protagonist aligns perfectly with one of the coffins, looking as though they are resting in them. Of course, anyone whose played the original knows that the new girl is doomed to the same fate as Minato, so it's only a spoiler if you've never played it on the PS2.

* Most of the ''{{Naruto}}'' video games tend to spoil hidden characters during the introduction sequences.
* The ''SamuraiShodown II'' intro briefly shows the secret character Kuroko.

* The title screen of ''FinalFantasyMysticQuest'' displays five crystals, four of which are depowered. Avoiding spoilers, the existence of a fifth still-functioning crystal doesn't come up until ''very'' late in the story.

** ''BirthBySleep'' does this one straight '''''AND''''' [[InvertedTrope inverts]] it. In a typical fashion, the opening is symbolic of the events that transpire (though most of the symbolism will likely go over your head until beating it), but the true spoilers come from the credits. The game is split into three stories, however they can be done in any order. The cast listing reveals Richard Epcar as Terra-Xehanort and Haley Joel Osment as Vanitas. This gets even more ridiculous as the former only appears in Terra's story (not counting the Final Episode), and Vanitas's actor corresponds with his face, which is only revealed in Ven's, so there is no order to play the story in that avoids this. Thankfully the credits are skipable and (appart from the Final Episode's) lacks [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Simple and Clean]].
** The opening to ''KingdomHeartsCoded'' features brief scenes in the beginning of Aqua, Terra, and Ven as of the ending of ''Birth by Sleep.'' Each scene is only maybe a second long, but at the time ''coded'' came out ''Birth By Sleep'' was only about a year old.

* The third part of the ''CityOfHeroes'' [[TonightSomeoneDies "Who Will Die"]] storyline opens with your character being assigned to either bodyguard or kidnap a character. [[http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/File:Who_Will_Die_Part_3.jpg The loading screen for all missions in the arc]] features Statesman, the character's father, grieving over a toe-tagged body. Sure enough, the character is killed in the course of the arc.

* In Takeshi's perspective of ''{{VisualNovel/Ever17}}'', it's revealed near the end of each route that there is a [[UnderwaterBase secret facility deeper underwater]], directly under [=LeMU=]. However, the observant will notice something very clearly visible under [=LeMU=] [[http://youtu.be/8BtV0a5M2xk in the very first shot of the opening video]]. It's not clear ''what'' it is, but after reading the story for a while, one can guess it's pretty much unknown to the characters and [[ChekhovsGun will probably become important eventually]].
* In ''MonsterHunter Tri'', TheStinger at the end of the trailer shows a gigantic serpentine monster at a lake letting out a low-pitched roar. Said monster is Dire Miralis, the final boss of the game's Online mode.
* ''{{Final Fantasy XIII}}'': The opening ends on Vanille, alone, standing looking at Cocoon hanging in the sky above Pulse. This spoils the fact that yes, you will eventually get to leave Cocoon and go to Pulse. What it doesn't spoil is the subtle hint behind Vanille being alone in this scene; [[spoiler:she is from Pulse, unlike the others (except Fang)]].
* ''{{Metal Gear Solid 2}}'' opening spoils Raiden when in fact you begin to play the game as Solid Snake.
** ''{{Metal Gear Solid 4}}'' title sequence is actually the last scene in the game. [[spoiler: Until Big Boss arrives.]]
** ''{{Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker}}'' opening shows every main character and the 4 AI weapons, including Peace Walker itself.

* The first season of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' showed clips from the current episode during its opening, occasionally spoiling plot points.

* The intro to ''XMenEvolution'' shows all of the X-Men gathered together and shows them off by name, despite the fact that half of them don't show up for several episodes. The most notable case is Rogue, who is introduced early on as a character, but keeps her allegiance uncertain until halfway through the season.

* "WesternAnimation/AdventureTime". Just pay attention to the first 5 seconds of the opening, and you will get spoiled with one of the biggest plot twist in the whole series...

* ''RedVsBlue'' had Tex appearing in the credits ... along with ''her'' voice actor. There goes the plot twist that [[SamusIsAGirl Tex Is A Girl]].

** Also, there's an easy-to-miss one early in the fourth season of StargateAtlantis. The show reverts to using the previous season's opening sequence (or the credits in it, at least), including Dr. Carson Beckett, who died around the end of the third season. His name is only in the opening credits for one episode, though, so you can chalk it up to a mistake... [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife unless you've previously read about]] the "Oh, Michael's got a clone to replace the dead original" thing that's going to happen.