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In a world where it's a common joke that trailers contain the phrase "in a world"...and there are even lists of trailers that used the phrase seriously, as an artifact of a world where a trailer containing "in a world" wasn't a joke...One man...is curious what trailer originated this phrase. But to find out...he's going to have to ask a question...on Movies and TV SE.

What was the earliest trailer to use the phrase "in a world"? The earliest movie on that list is The Road Warrior, from 1981. Was it the first, or was there an earlier one?

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    So, the trailer actually stated that one man is going to have to ask a question on Movies and TV SE? Commented Sep 20, 2016 at 8:03
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    @steelerfan No, that wording was supposed to be humorous. "One (man/woman/etc.)" is another thing they say in trailers. The question is written like the kind of stereotypical trailer that it's asking about. I'm not suggesting or claiming that there is a real trailer which mentions Stack Exchange.
    – Torisuda
    Commented Sep 20, 2016 at 13:26
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    You could try to look into Don Lafontaine's filmography - he was the most iconic deep voice to do trailers back in the days... Commented Sep 20, 2016 at 14:35

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As said in this wikipedia article:

Donald Leroy LaFontaine (August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008) was an American voice actor who recorded more than 5,000 film trailers and hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, network promotions, and video game trailers.

He became identified with the phrase "In a world...", used in so many movie trailers that it became a cliché. Widely known in the film industry, his nicknames included "Thunder Throat" and "The Voice of God".

LaFontaine claimed that company National Recording Studios he worked for first came up with many of the famous movie trailer catch phrases, including his own future signature phrase, "in a world...".

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Donald Leroy "Don" LaFontaine claimed he was the first to come up with the idea however there is no proof of it but it seems to have been around for some time.

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  • Can you provide some sources for your answer please? Commented Apr 14, 2017 at 12:08

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