Even Tim Burton approves of Timothée Chalamet’s Edgar Scissorhands Super Bowl ad
Sunday night’s Super Bowl gifted us the most epic collab of 2021: Chalamet, Ryder and Burton.
Timothée Chalamet fans can thank prolific filmmaker Tim Burton for Cadillac’s buzzy Super Bowl ad starring the former as the lookalike son of Edward Scissorhands — and not only because Burton directed its cult-classic source material. He was also involved in the making of its Super Bowl sequel, which reunited Burton with Winona Ryder, with whom he worked on 1990’s “Edward Scissorhands.”
“It’s rare when a work you’re proud of continues to live on and evolve with the times, even after 30 years,” Burton, who approved the concept for the commercial, said in a statement. “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.”
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The fourth-quarter spot introduced Chalamet as Edgar Scissorhands, the goth, misunderstood offspring of Johnny Depp’s Edward Scissorhands and Ryder’s Kim, the sweet suburban teen Edward falls in love with. An adult version of Ryder’s character, now a devoted mother, makes an appearance in the ad too.
“This is the story of a boy with scissors for hands,” Ryder’s Kim says in the commercial. “No, not that one.”
Cut to a montage of Chalamet’s Edgar effortlessly slicing a pineapple for his mom, accidentally deflating a football, getting his hands caught in a chain-link fence and driving a car via virtual reality goggles — that is, until Kim surprises him with a real, hands-free Super Cruise Cadillac.
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“And Edgar drove off into the sunset,” Kim says. “But don’t worry, he still makes it home in time for dinner — occasionally.”
As with just about everything Chalamet touches, social media lost its mind over the 25-year-old actor’s latest project before it even had a chance to air during the big game. Chalamet’s Instagram post unveiling his dark, leathery costume ahead of the ad’s debut has amassed more than 3.4 million likes.
“Timothee Chalamet as the son of Kim and Edward Scissorhands is perfect casting,” tweeted Hollywood Reporter columnist Chris Gardner.
“Timothee Chalamet as Edgar Scissorhands, son of Edward Scissorhands is the best casting there will ever be, even if it is just for a tv spot,” echoed fan account @Angy__Fa1.
Also impressed with Chalamet’s Super Bowl turn was Ryder, who recently praised her commercial costar in an interview with Vanity Fair.
“It was quite a moment,” Ryder told the magazine of seeing Chalamet in costume for the first time. “Very surreal ... I was really blown away by him and everyone’s work putting the character together. He is such a beautiful guy, so talented, so incredibly kind and unique. Really the perfect person to embody that character.”
The feeling was mutual for Chalamet, who revealed in an interview with Vogue that he “grew up an enormous Tim Burton fan” and relished the opportunity to enter the filmmaker’s fantasy universe opposite Ryder.
“Working with Winona was a total dream come true,” Chalamet told Vogue. “She’s an incredible actress and continues to be an American icon. And in the same way I love working with Saoirse Ronan — it was a reminder of the ‘America’s Sweetheart’ role Winona occupied in many American hearts and minds in the ’90s.”
See more reactions to Chalamet, Ryder and Burton’s Super Bowl collaboration below.
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