Super Bowl LIV may have been a blow-out, with the Buccaneers handily trouncing the Chiefs, but the commercials — usually as much an attraction as the actually game, if not moreso — were unusually all-over-the place. Some were mournful, reflecting a grim last year. Some were weird. Some thought way outside the box. But there was one big trend that stuck out: Ads that exhumed ‘90s pop culture. Wayne’s World got rebooted to sell Uber Eats, while Edward Scissorhands — the beloved Tim Burton movie from 1990 — got a sequel, even if it was just a minute-long promo for cars.
The ad found Timothée Chalamet and his floppy hair slipping comfortably into the role of Edgar Scissorhands, apparently the son of the character played by Johnny Depp and his onetime crush, played by Winona Ryder. (Depp, who’s fallen on hard times, to say the least, was AWOL, though Ryder was very much not.) The commercial turned a lot of heads, and it had one major fan, who also played a key role in it getting green-lit: Tim Burton himself.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Burton personally approved the concept for the ad, which finds many amusing ways for Chalamet’s Edgar to ruin things for people with his pointy fingers. (Though he does make one beautiful-looking sandwich.) Burton said he hoped the commercial wouldn’t just sell Cadillacs, but that it would direct younger viewers to one of his first movies, about a shy outcast shunned by suburban society.
“It’s rare when a work you’re proud of continues to live on and evolve with the times, even after 30 years,” the filmmaker told the publication. “I’m glad to see Edgar coping with the new world! I hope both fans and those being introduced to Edward Scissorhands for the first time enjoy it.”
If you want to revisit Edward Scissorhands or even view it for the first time, it streams with Starz add-ons on both Amazon Prime and Hulu. You can watch the “Edgar Scissorhands” commercial below.
(Via The Los Angeles Times)