imidazole-based vicinal bromostannanes 5a-c have been developed for the regioselective preparation of 2,4,5-tri- and 4,5-disubstituted imidazoles. The novel building blocks are particularly attractive for Stille and Suzuki couplings that involve valuable aryl or heteroaryl halides, where conversion to the equivalent stannanes or boranes/boronic acids would represent an inviable option.