Here at Polygon, we’re not the sort that scoff at caring about the Super Bowl — why, some of our favorite coworkers love football! It’s just that there’s so much else at the biggest U.S. television event of the year that piques our interest, and this year is no different.
With Usher making Jujutsu Kaisen references, Taylor Swift jetting in from tour, and the blockbuster summer movie season approaching, Super Bowl LVIII looks ready to uphold the event’s undying relevance for at least another year.
Here’s what the staff of Polygon are putting our (metaphorical) money on:
- Taylor Swift in the stands and on the cam: If we had a bingo card, this would be the… blank space.
- Usher’s halftime show makes a reference to anime: He’s already showed off his appreciation for anime fans.
- The same but video games: With Super Bowl halftime shows rarely going to artists without a decade or two of reliable mass appeal under their belts, you’ve got to do something to get the youth’s attention.
- Trailers for multiple sequels: Both Inside Out 2 (June 14) and Twisters (July 19) are due for full length trailers before their summer debuts.
- Deadpool 3 gets a title and a trailer with at least one MCU character in it: Dare I dream of Deadpool Beats up the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
- Taylor Swift as Dazzler in the Deadpool 3 trailer: Rumors of this mashup have been swirling for ages, and with Swift in the Super Bowl news, it seems like exactly the kind of thing Deadpool 3’s marketing would want to take advantage of.
- Cringe Apple Vision Pro reference: Has Apple’s $3,500 swing at the world of virtual reality — sorry, “spatial computing” — made enough of a splash to make it to the big game?
- M&Ms referencing last year’s controversy: Last year’s M&M Super Bowl marketing stunt broke containment when it happened to coincide with conservative punditry.
- Not a single crypto ad of any kind: The end of an era…
- Obligatory reference to the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake halftime show: It’s been 20 years since the world was introduced to the phrase “wardrobe malfunction.”
What’s on your Super Bowl bingo card this year?