Chris Hemsworth, Christina Ricci, Ken Jeong, Will Arnett and Auli’i Cravalho have all come together to star in not the latest blockbuster superhero movie but a five-minute spot for Supercell’s party action mobile game, “Squad Busters.”
Hemsworth, true to form, plays a stacked Viking-like Barbarian King, while Ricci shows up as a witch, Jeong as a chicken who freely hands out the eggs he lays, Arnett as a friendly and chatty lumberjack and Cravalho, best known for voicing Moana, as Shelly. The launch film was created and produced by Uncommon Creative Studio, with a production assist from Caviar Content and music and sound by 750mph and Mr. Pape. Jody Hill, who boasts such credits as The Righteous Gemstones and Eastbound and Down, directs.
In “Squad Busters,” players play 10-person multiplayer matches, building up squads over the course of four-minute rounds and trying to grab the most gems. The game features characters from across Supercell’s universe of games, including “Clash of Clans” and “Clash Royale.” "Squad Busters" marks Supercell’s first new gaming release in five years.
In the spot, the characters show up in a gamer’s bedroom with the mission of bringing more fun into his life, even though he’s not so sure he signed up for this. The gang goes to a job interview with the gamer, follows him into the bathroom where they deliver unwanted but encouraging words, and crams into a car where they all join together in singing Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me.”
Later, they run into another squad in a parking lot and a battle royale begins – well, the friendly lumberjacks go off to chop down a tree – but everyone else battles it out. Off to the side, Instagram’s famous Dude With Sign appears holding a sign that reads “I’m here to appeal to a younger audience.” The counter squad is played by such internet stars as Tiktokker Bella Poarch as witch, real-life woodcutter Thoren Bradley as lumberjack, lip-syncer Gabriela Moura as Shelly and YouTuber ZHC as chicken.
"Squad Busters" marks Supercell’s first global game launch in more than five years, and the company says it has received more than 40 million pre-registrations.
READ MORE: Little Black Book, Fast Company