It seemed 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 as they were about to board the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride.
In the viral clip released Sunday (below), Pascal removes his helmet and the tourists go wild — cheering with shock and excitement at unexpectedly seeing 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 jaw-dropped tourists weren’t exactly a random group.
As quickly spotted by online sleuths, the people consisted of Star Wars bloggers, influencers and fan creators. The revelation has led to some backlash against the studio, which has leaned heavily on influencers in recent years to generate hype ahead of releases. One fan site wrote, “The backlash surrounding the Pedro Pascal Disneyland stunt taps directly into a growing problem for Disney: Audiences no longer trust the company’s marketing.”
To be fair, Disney never claimed the group were random tourists, and the influencers lent plenty of transparency to the matter by eventually posting their own accounts of the moment.
