Ahead of this week’s opening, Disney and Lucasfilm are facing heat over a Pedro Pascal Disneyland stunt promoting The Mandalorian & Grogu, with fans accusing the studio of making a staged influencer event look like a spontaneous fan surprise.
The clip (watch below), released through official Star Wars social channels, showed Pascal dressed as The Mandalorian at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge before removing his helmet inside the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction.
The group in the video reacted with shock and excitement, with Disney framing it as “the surprise of a lifetime.”
The problem? The “fans” were reportedly not random Disneyland guests but “influencers” invited by Disney.
Pedro Pascal Disneyland Surprise Called Out Online
Pop culture news site Geeks & Gamers first reported that the people in the video were quickly identified online as Star Wars bloggers, Disney influencers, fan creators, and social media personalities.
The report said the moment was exposed within hours as a curated influencer marketing stunt instead of an organic fan interaction.
The Hollywood Reporter later picked up on G&G’s story, reporting that the group included Star Wars bloggers, influencers, and fan creators. THR also noted that Disney never explicitly claimed the guests were random tourists, but the footage and caption led many viewers to believe the moment was a “big surprise” to the “fans.”
Disney’s caption read: “Pedro Pascal creates the surprise of a lifetime at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland.”
Once fans started identifying the people in the clip, the backlash started.
Fans Question Disney’s Marketing
The criticism comes at a bad time for The Mandalorian & Grogu, which marks the first Star Wars movie in seven years and opens in theaters this weekend.
Box office estimates are already soft, which suggests The Mandalorian & Grogu could open as the lowest in Star Wars history. Reactions have also been mixed, and the Rotten Tomatoes reviews are hovering on rotten.
Disney and Lucasfilm are pushing hard to sell the film as a major theatrical return for the franchise, but the Pedro Pascal stunt has created another headache.
Instead of coming across as a genuine fan moment, critics say it looked like Disney tried to manufacture excitement by using influencers and then packaging the reaction as something more organic.
Geeks & Gamers wrote that the backlash taps into a larger trust problem for Disney, arguing that audiences no longer believe the company’s marketing.
Disney’s Side Of The Story
According to THR, a source close to the matter said the group consisted of legitimate Star Wars fans, including some with modest social media followings.
The group was reportedly invited to Disneyland under the guise of checking out new content additions to Smugglers Run. Pascal’s appearance was said to be a real surprise to them.
The report also points out that some of the influencers later posted their own accounts of the event and thanked Star Wars and Lucasfilm for the experience.
One cosplayer wrote that the Star Wars and Lucasfilm teams “worked tirelessly” to plan the event. Another digital creator thanked the Star Wars team and told fans to see The Mandalorian & Grogu on the big screen on May 22.
The Mandalorian & Grogu Opens May 22
The Mandalorian & Grogu stars Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin and brings Grogu to the big screen after the Disney+ series. Jon Favreau directs, with Dave Filoni also involved. Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White are also part of the cast.
The movie opens in theaters and IMAX on May 22, earlier on Thursday with previews.
