Netflix's Eurovision Song Contest Originally Planned an Insane Marketing Scheme for Will Ferrell & Rachel McAdams

Earlier this year brought a major hit for Netflix when the streamer released Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, a comedy starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as Icelandic singers. The film was notable for a few reasons but the primary one was the original songs written for it, especially "Jaja Ding Dong" which was billed as a fan-favorite within the movie and quickly became one in the real world. In a new report on the making of the movie and its many songs, the producers behind the film have revealed their truly insane original idea for marketing the movie which would have seen Ferrell and McAdams appear as their characters around the world.

According to EW, the plan would have started with music producer Scooter Braun making the announcement that he was signing "Fire Saga" to a record deal with director David Dobkin noting that the plan was for "a true marketing campaign." This would have included "billboards, talk-show appearances, a single drop for 'Volcano Man' to see if they could break into the Billboard charts, and a Saturday Night Live musical guest stint." The entire thing would have culminated in "Ferrell and McAdams performing as their characters on the final night of the real Eurovision the same week of the film's planned premiere."

Dobkin noted that at no point would they say the performing pair were Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, instead insisting that it was "Lars and Sigrit" the entire time. So what happened? If you haven't guessed already, COVID-19 but a lid on all of this.

"The COVID of it all really screeched that to a halt," Dobkin added. "Eurovision was canceled, but just as importantly, we couldn't really market the movie because, with everything going on and people marching in the streets in America, it didn't feel like a time for us to be out there ignoring all that."

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga also features Dan Stevens, Natasia Demetriou, Demi Lovato, and Pierce Brosnan. The film marks Ferrell's first collaboration with Netflix for a film that's a star vehicle for the comedian. Though the streamer doesn't release specific viewership numbers for all of its properties, Eurovision was quick to land at the top of the Netflix Top 10 charts, a regular occasion for Netflix originals but a clear sign that audiences were loving the movie.

(H/T Collider)