Rian Johnson is a bit of a…mixed figure in the eyes of the many filmgoers. Look, whatever your feelings on his most divided film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Johnson has proven himself to be a director with a wide range with the excellent murder mystery film Knives Out and a pretty chill guy on social media too. Yet if you needed even more evidence that Johnson is just a cool guy who wants to work on fun projects, his latest bit of work is sure to run home that point. Turns out, Johnson is super into Pokémon. So much so that he’s gone and directed a new commercial for Pokémon Go.
In order to promote the upcoming Pokémon Go Fest 2020, Rian Johnson teamed up with The Pokémon Company to produce the latest piece of promotional material. The ad shows players walking around the real world and literally peeling away bits of the landscape in their endless search to catch wild Pokémon. It’s a cute little piece of media showing off the joys of hunting down and catching Pokémon even though it’s more than a little tough to actually walk around and explore the outside world these days.
Johnson spoke about his participation in the ad, saying “Pokémon Go has kept me engaged with my friends remotely as I’ve been practicing physical distancing these past few months. As a longtime Pokémon trainer, it was a real pleasure working with Niantic on this spot. It was a new experience for me to direct a production remotely, and I enjoyed the highly collaborative process and think we put together a fun and upbeat commercial that fans will enjoy.”
The “remotely” part is in reference to the fact that the commercial was filmed in New Zealand while Johnson directed from Los Angeles, America. Which is fitting, given that Pokémon Go Fest 2020 is set to take place as a digital event this year.
(Source: The Verge)
