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For over a century, Disney has built its entire brand on fantasy and make-believe, and few elements of the massive global entertainment company stay as true to that mission as D23, the biannual fan-expo event. It’s a gathering for fairy tales and storytelling, where the company’s executives and Imagineers weave tall tales about ambitious new rides, attractions, and technologies … that might never actually make it into the parks.
So take the following very cool development with a grain of salt (which is apparently a whole thing in the world of The Mandalorian and Grogu): In this year’s D23 Imagineering pavilion, Disney is showing off a snack-bar concept for Disneyland called “Hugo’s Sweets and Fizz,” featuring the Martin Scorsese–voiced character from this year’s Mandalorian film, an alien food vendor named Hugo Durant. In videos on social media of the stand, an animatronic Hugo is snoozing in the corner while two of his four hands knead dough and stir something in a mixing bowl. The sleepy, mouth-breathing robot is supercute, because he looks so much like an alien Marty, with his white hair, bushy eyebrows, and sweet expression. Just look at this and tell me they didn’t trap the soul of America’s most beloved living director in the body of a little alien creature who operates a soda stand in the middle of a Disney convention!
An animatronic for Martin Scorsese’s voiced ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ character Hugo Durant, Grogu plus more | #D23 pic.twitter.com/ohjJ6eJvWs
The star of the show is arguably meant to be Grogu, who pops up from behind the counter to use the Force on sodas that come out on a conveyer belt. But all eyes are on the little Marty-bot. What’s he meant to be stirring in there? Bespoke alien Diet Coke? Disneyland better actually install this so we can find out.
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