The Rock In A Fanny Pack Balloon Debuts At Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

This year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade got a surprise cameo from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. During the broadcast an augmented reality (AR) balloon of Johnson was shown, emulating the classic early-90s photo of Johnson wearing a turtleneck and fanny pack. The balloon was shown to help promote the upcoming series Young Rock, which chronicles Johnson’s childhood prior to finding stardom as a professional wrestler.

You can see the video of the balloon below. Production for the NBC series officially got underway this week, with Johnson sharing photos from the set.

“Excellent work week on set of our new TV series, “YOUNG ROCK” coming soon to @NBC,” Johnson wrote on Instagram in one of his posts. “Working very closely with our series creator, Nahnatchka Khan. She’s a brilliant (and very funny) creative partner who I trust with my wild life story growing up. We examine every word from every character because these are all real people, real family who are still in my life and those who have passed away. Gotta be authentic and get it right. The good, the bad, the heartbreaking, the heartwarming and the f*cking hilarious. Can’t wait for you guys to watch this show.”

The cast includes Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant and Uli Latukfu (all as Johnson at different ages), Joseph Lee Anderson as WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, Stacey Leilua as Ata Johnson and Ana Tuisila as Lia Maivia.

The filming was particularly emotional for Johnson, as his father passed away earlier this year.

“Seeing this image of actor, @officialjosephleeanderson playing my dad, Rocky Johnson (RIP Soulman) really sat me down💔😢,” he wrote while posting a photo of Anderson. “On set of our new @nbc TV series, YOUNG ROCK – a show that explores my insanely wild childhood and all the many lessons life has thrown at me and my family along the way. My dad suddenly passed away earlier this year. Never had a chance to say goodbye to my old man, which really sucks – but as he always said, ‘hey the show must go on’. And so it will. Hope you’re proud of this one Soulman… who would’ve ever thought huh!? 🥃 Wanted you guys to see this ‘first look’ at my pops. No filters, no polish and nothing fancy. Just the Soulman doing what he did best! Can’t wait for you guys to watch our new show. I think you’re gonna like it.”