Horror director Tim Burton said he was glad to see his 1990 film “Edward Scissorhands” revived in the Super Bowl ad spot featuring Timothée Chalamet that aired Sunday.
“It’s rare when a work you’re proud of continues to live on and evolve with the times, even after 30 years,” Burton told the L.A. Times. “I’m glad to see Edgar coping with the new world!”
In the spot that appeared during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, we see Winona Ryder’s character Kim Boggs (from the original movie) as a doting mother to Edgar Scissorhands, her and Edward’s son. The family lives in a pink house that’s a near replica of their original suburban home, complete with a duck-shaped topiary bush in the front yard.
Kim opens the commercial by saying, “this is the story of a boy with scissors for hands… No, not that one.”
We don’t actually see Edward Scissorhands in the spot, but the Johnny Depp character’s influence is still there. His kid looks like him, down to the lanky form and frizzy black hair (and, of course, the scissor fingers). The internet was quick to point out that Chalamet was expertly cast for the brief appearance. An in-costume photo Chalamet posted to his Instagram Saturday to tease the spot got over 3.5 million likes.
“‘Edward Scissorhands’ was a movie I adored growing up, and the opportunity to step into that world was a dream come true,” Chalamet told Vogue.
Throughout the spot Chalamet shows us Edgar trying to do normal teenage things — but just like the original film, he finds it’s hard to catch a football on the quad or work at a sandwich counter when you have blades for hands. While he can expertly slice up a pineapple for his mom during breakfast, Edgar finds that taking the bus to school is difficult and ends up chopping the stop request rope in half.
After a series of unsuccessful attempts to fit in, Edgar finds a virtual reality headset, starts playing a driving game that looks like a very low-budget “Forza,” and falls in love. Kim then buys a Cadillac with hands-free driving for Edgar, so he can get around without puncturing the steering wheel. Predictably, he’s delighted.
“Edgar drove off into the sunset. But don’t worry, he still makes it home in time for dinner — occasionally,” Kim says at the end of the spot.
Ryder told Vanity Fair she was excited to step back into the role of Kim Boggs, even if it was only for about a minute and a half. Ryder said seeing Chalamet in costume for the first time “was quite a moment and very surreal.”
“I was really blown away by him and everyone’s work putting the character together,” Ryder said about Chalamet. “He is such a beautiful guy, so talented, so incredibly kind and unique. Really the perfect person to embody that character” of Edgar Scissorhands.
Check out the full video and some social media reactions to Chalamet and Ryder’s casting below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRJwCXntOpw
https://twitter.com/vhsangel/status/1358449906369916930
https://twitter.com/deafgeoff/status/1357706019405762567
Timothée 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. pic.twitter.com/CqJmQWjXtn
— Angy 🔥🚒 (@Angy__Fa1) February 7, 2021
https://twitter.com/sunflxwervolsix/status/1358479314635915264
Timothee Chalamet as the son of Kim and Edward Scissorhands and is perfect casting. https://t.co/byLGWHLeEM pic.twitter.com/XCdvJomjNo
— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) February 8, 2021