It looked like one of those perfectly executed viral marketing moments that Disney does so well: Pedro Pascal, disguised as his Mandalorian character, surprises a group of unsuspecting tourists at Disneyland just as they were about to board the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride.
In the viral clip posted on Sunday (below), Pascal takes off his helmet and tourists go crazy – cheering in shock and excitement at the unexpected sight The Mandalorian and Grogu actor. Disney’s Instagram caption read: “Pedro Pascal creates the surprise of a lifetime at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at @disneyland.”
Except the astonished tourists weren’t a completely random group.
As online sleuths quickly noted, the people consisted of Star Wars bloggers, influencers, and fan creators. The revelation has led to some backlash against the studio, which has relied heavily on influencers in recent years to generate hype ahead of releases. “The backlash surrounding Pedro Pascal’s stunt at Disneyland leads directly to a growing problem for Disney: the public no longer trusts the company’s marketing,” one fan site wrote.
To be fair, Disney never claimed the group were random tourists, and the influencers have brought plenty of transparency to the matter by posting their own accounts at the moment.
“I was a crying fool after the shaking [Pascal’s] “Hands down and screams with everyone in that room last night and I’m okay with that. The @starwars @lucasfilm team worked tirelessly to plan this epic experience for us and for that I’m forever grateful,” one Star Wars designer wrote. One digital creator wrote: “Big thanks to the @starwars team for making this happen… Go watch[[The Mandalorian]On the big screen on May 22.
So Disney didn’t really hide the ball, from a certain point of view. But the initial footage and photos taken by the studio certainly led many to assume that this was an impromptu moment, and the media covered the event without knowing that the studio had chosen the lucky tourists.
A source close to the matter said Hollywood Reporter The group is made up of legitimate Star Wars fans, some of whom have modest social media followings. The group is invited to the park under the guise of checking out new content additions to Smugglers Run. In other words, their reaction to Pascal was genuine. And then Pascal The Mandalorian and Grogu Co-star Sigourney Weaver, writer-director Jon Favreau, and Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni gathered to watch a screening of Shadows of Memory with regular tourists nearby.
This trick is followed by several fan site critics who posted enthusiastic comments for The Mandalorian and Grogu After early screenings of the film. One described it as “a smile-inducing, crowd-pleasing film that puts Star Wars back on the theatrical track. Director Jon Favreau (again) is a safe pair of hands delivering solid, exciting, engaging fun. The solid popcorn movie is the summer blockbuster you’ve been looking for.”
The Mandalorian and Grogu It marks the first new Star Wars film in seven years and opens this weekend.
