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“Dundee”, the Reboot We Deserve

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The Super Bowl is one of the most watched sporting events on television, and year after year viewers return to watch Tom Brady and the equally entertaining and possibly less predictable commercials.

In the current stage of NFL marketing, the commercials themselves have become an equally important and anticipated part of the Super Bowl. The buzz around the commercials rivals the game itself, to the point that the ads themselves have garnered previews or early releases. “Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home,” a sequel to the classic “Crocodile Dundee” is one such ad.

It had been teased as a commercial that would air during the game, but more importantly, it already drummed up attention with a series of trailers that were released weeks prior to the game. Showing Danny McBride as the estranged American son of Crocodile Dundee, Brian Dundee is traveling to Australia to find his dad who has been lost in the Outback. The trailers released weeks prior to the Super Bowl show off the star-studded cast that includes Australian heavyweights such as Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman, Margot Robbie, Russell Crowe, Isla Fisher, Ruby Rose, Liam Hemsworth, Jessica Mauboy and Luke Bracey.

The trailer is indicative of the greater Hollywood trend of rebooting franchises, and profiting from the nostalgia the name alone brings. “Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home” seems smarter than the other Hollywood reboots looking for easy money. McBride’s overly confident and under-capable protagonist helms what appears to be less of a cheap rip-off and more of a thematic continuation of the original. Crocodile Dundee’s charm and humor came from the fish-out-of-water dynamic established when a rugged Australian frontiersman experiences the cities of America. “Dundee” can be what a reboot or sequel should be. It does not feel like a rip-off of the original, but does not completely disregard the source material either. In these trailers, there are numerous references to the original, including the laughably familiar “You call that a knife” line that McBride delivers with the faux-confidence one would expect from the bastard son of an Australian legend.

Though for all of the excitement and hype the trailers have garnered, there is something that they do not address. Hollywood execs have been quick to flaunt projects relating to franchises and reboots from the first semblance of life in a project. Typically a film such as “Dundee” would be heavily advertised. Why, then, did a film of this caliber and star power not break into the sphere of public knowledge? To put it simply, it is not actually going to be a film. The trailers, though they reference a summer 2018 release, are all we will see of the “Dundee” reboot. The trailers are actually an incredibly effective promotion for the Australian tourism industry.

The mostly Australian cast are all keen on helping their homeland, and Tourism Australia is keen on continuing the trend of ads being one of most anticipated parts of the Super Bowl with their piece of marketing genius. Sadly, the final ad for “Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home” aired during the Super Bowl and did not promise any possibility of more Dundee in the future. However, the ad that aired during the game focused much more heavily on the tourism industry as opposed to the content of the potential reboot like the first trailers. The newest trailer shows Chris Hemsworth, Brian’s native Australian guide, taking Brian all over Australia’s beautiful beaches and through Vineyards, highlighting parts of Australia besides the Outback. Though there will be no reboot, Tourism Australia demonstrates what fun commercials can be and has caused many people to start thinking about taking a trip, looking for their Australian fix since another “Dundee” film is simply a dream too big to come true.