The marketing for the upcoming Star Wars film, Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, has been nothing short of baffling. In the lead up to the release of the first theatrically released Star Wars film in seven years, every new bit of promotion released has felt stilted and failed to resonate with audiences. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the Super Bowl spot, a painfully ill-advised bit of attempted brand synergy that proved so baffling that interviews had to be done explaining why it even existed.
However, things did recover a bit with the release of the newest full-length trailer. Real effort had clearly been put into making the trailer look action-packed, focus on likable character beats, and remind audiences why they once cared so much about this franchise and these title characters in-specific. One of the most notable elements of the trailer was the fact that Pedro Pascal was actually visibly in it.
The actor has long played Din Djarin, the central Mandalorian, but has only actually shown his face on-screen as the character a handful of times over the course of years. That’s what makes it so notable that this trailer shows Pascal’s face onscreen in multiple different scenes and connotations. Which raises the question; is this a savvy marketing choice or a desperate attempt at cashing in on his star-status that is doomed to backfire?
It may seem like the most obvious thing in the world that The Mandalorian and Grogu would want to use Pascal’s face in the marketing, given the fact that he has become one of the biggest stars in the world in recent years. However, it’s worth considering the fact that in the previous season of The Mandalorian TV series, Pascal has been open, honest, and transparent about rarely even physically being on set. In essence, his role turned into more of a vocal performance, as the character didn’t take his helmet off for the entire season. Thus, Din Djarin gets more facetime onscreen in this one trailer than he has in years.
So is the choice to show of Pascal this much in the trailer a smart one? For now, the answer is yes. Showing his face undoubtedly drives up interest among both hardcore fans and general audiences, as it entices each group in a different way. Fans are intrigued because it showcases a kind of development that the character hasn’t gone through in years. General audiences are intrigued because they see Pedro.
How this could ultimately backfire on the film though is if Pascal is actually not in the film all that much. The trailer seems to promise a film that will utilize the actor’s high-wattage star-power and expressive face, and if the actual final edit of The Mandalorian and Grogu only features the character with his helmet off for a matter of minutes, audiences could feel manipulated by this marketing tactic. Given just how much the rest of the marketing up to this point has steered away from showing Pascal’s face, I think it’s fair to say that the film was, at the very least, attempting to keep this development under wraps until release, but was ultimately compelled to play its cards a bit sooner given the lackluster reception to marketing efforts thus far.
The real answer to whether or not it was a smart or desperate move will come in the form of the film’s box office performance. If this latest trailer convinces people to eschew the hours-upon-hours of The Mandalorian they can access for free on their TV at home in favor of heading out to the theater to see this new adventure, and leave the theater satisfied, then this will be a win. But if audiences wind up feeling jilted and as if they should’ve just stayed home? Well, that could spell disaster for Star Wars moving forward.