Bo Burnham Releases Full Line of Marvel Studios Parody Merch

By Russ Burlingame

Fans of Bo Burnham's groundbreaking comedy special Inside were delighted last month to discover that the comedian and filmmaker had released -- for free on YouTube -- over an hour of additional footage created during the production of Inside. The Inside Outtakes ended with an extended riff on Marvel Studios, from a parody version of the Marvel logo, to a decade's worth of planned comedy specials tying into the "Inside Cinematic Universe," featuring characters and concepts from Inside. The smart money is that none of these movies will ever happen -- except maybe 40, which feels like a safe bet as a tenth-anniversary celebration of Inside -- but now, there's merch.

Burnham today launched the Inside Studios Store, featuring t-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, and other merchandise featuring Burnham's Marvel-inspired Inside Studios logo. On the site, each item has a tongue-in-cheek description that feels like an extension of some of Burnham's snake-oil-salesman character who talked about corporate responsibility in Inside.

"Thank you for being a part of The Inside Studios Family," a statement at the top of the store reads. "As a token of our appreciation for your continued support, we here at Inside Studios are allowing you the exclusive opportunity to take part in a once-in-a-lifetime, Fan's-First INSIDE EXPERIENCE."  

You can see Burnham modeling the merch below.


The website adds, "So here's how it works: below is a selection of what we are calling 'WEARABLE CONTENT.' All you need to do is what we are calling 'BUY' this what we are calling 'WEARABLE CONTENT' with what we are calling 'YOUR MONEY.' Now, the cool part. Once you have 'BUY'ed this 'WEARABLE CONTENT (stay with us here), 'YOUR MONEY' will become a LITERAL PART OF THE INSIDE CINEMATIC UNIVERSE. And the more 'WEARABLE CONTENT' you 'BUY,' the more 'YOUR MONEY' you get to contrinute. It's pretty awesome."

He signs it as President of Inside Studios and "Adult Man in a Baseball Hat," a pretty overt nod to Marvel chief Kevin Feige who is often wearing one in public appearances.

On Instagram, Burnham hashtagged the post "#mentalhealth," an issue he has discussed often, although it is not immediately clear whether some of the proceeds from the Inside Studios Store go to mental health organizations. Mental health was also a key theme in Inside, but given the lack of other hashtags, it feels like a significant addition. 

Similarly, the website says to "Become a part of us. Before it's too late," but it isn't clear whether that's more hype-man language, or whether the merchandise really is a limited-edition drop.

You can see Bo Burnham: Inside on Netflix and The Inside Outtakes on Burnham's YouTube channel.

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