The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal is showing up in an unexpected place: a mockumentory short that’s an ad campaign for mobile game Merge Mansion. This game has had viral ads in the past, featuring unexpected plot twists and leaps of logic. One ad campaign starts from a mansion burning down, a woman renovating the mansion, and her grandma apparently getting arrested for some unknown crime. (Free her!)
Pascal’s role in the short film is Detective Tim, a guy trying to figure out what grandma Ursula is hiding. “Honestly, I don’t even know where to start,” Pascal opens up the video with. “On the surface, you have a perfectly normal family. A young girl. Her grandma. You know, this is apple pie America.”
The video goes on to show lots of knives for an “apple pie America” situation, and a mystery that revolves around the grandma arrested at the end of the original viral video. It ends with the “He is alive” note that grandma Ursula slaps against the window to show her granddaughter.
Whatever grandma did, Pascal’s on a mission to find out. Developer Metacore is also transforming the real-life Paramour Estate location into the Boulton family mansion, making it an interactive hybrid theater, escape room, and “lore museum” experience. Pascal will also be part of the event, though it’s unknown the extent to which he’ll be involved.
The film is a teaser for a Merge Mansion update on March 28. The game itself revolves around the mansion and features activities like renovating the building and uncovering the strange, possibly murderous, family secrets.
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