Disney dropped its Super Bowl spot for Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, and there were no fan-fave cameos like Zeb, or Rotta the Hutt or even Sigourney Weaver reprising her Alien role as Ripley (c’mon, we know that’s not even in the realm of real), rather it was an inspirational if you will 30-second spot of the Bounty Hunter and Baby Yoda getting pulled in the snow by a fleet of Tauntauns.
The voiceover sounds a lot like Sam Elliott, and we’ve learned, yes, it is: “Sometimes we choose our path, other times the path chooses us.”
Elliott’s voice continues, “Through it all, we keep pushing forward, driven by a deeper purpose, guided by an unseen force. The journey never gets any easier, the bond just gets harder to break. This is the way.”
Mandalorian & Grogu based on the 15-Emmy winning Disney+ Lucasfilm TV streaming series is teed up to be this year’s big Memorial Day weekend release. After last year’s Lilo & Stitch, Disney already owns the holiday opening record with $182.6M. Solo: A Star Wars Story posted the best debut for a Star Wars movie over the Memorial Day holiday (even though that film failed to work) with $103M.
Disney has defied logic before at the box office by reverse engineering a TV property to big screen success, read High Musical 3 which played its first two installments on the small screen only to see the threequel mushroom at the box office with a $42M U.S. opening in 2008 and $90.6M domestic, and close to $253M WW final.
The Mandalorian & Grogu spot is arguably the second for a Star Wars movie ever during the big game following 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Said Disney’s Creative Marketing EVP Jackson George, “Grogu is more than a character; he’s a pop culture phenomenon. Riding alongside the heroic Mandalorian, he brings lightness, humor, joy, and an instant emotional connection that transcends the moment. This Big Game spot celebrates how deeply we love and connect with these characters, reminds us of the fun, heart, and spectacle that defines Star Wars, and offers a bite-sized promise of the experience audiences will get when they see these two beloved icons on the big screen. Directed by Jon Favreau, the creative force behind The Mandalorian franchise, the spot gives audiences a taste of the greatest cinematic saga from a galaxy far, far away.”