Super Bowl LVIII: FanDuel will adjust ad that included Carl Weathers

A Super Bowl ad that featured Carl Weathers in a cameo role is being adjusted in the wake of the actor’s death on Thursday.

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FanDuel, an online sports betting platform, had released a preview of its upcoming Super Bowl ad last month, which featured retired NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski and a brief cameo from the “Rocky” star, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Weathers died peacefully on Thursday, and family members announced his death in a statement obtained by Deadline. He was 76.

FanDuel posted a notice on its social media sites mourning the actor’s death and announcing that it would modify the commercial.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Carl Weathers,” the company wrote on X. formerly known as Twitter. “Throughout his life, Carl was an iconic talent who had a profound impact on the people he worked with on and off the screen. FanDuel was fortunate to have had an opportunity to work with him during our Super Bowl campaign. We are adjusting our campaign accordingly out of respect for the family during their time of grief.”

In the ad, Gronkowski, is sullenly walking in the desert toward Las Vegas, the site of this year’s Super Bowl. The former All-Pro with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wants to make things right after he missed last year’s “FanDuel Kick of Destiny,” Entertainment Weekly reported.

“I don’t kick. I catch,” a long-haired, unkempt Gronkowski yells.

Weathers, who played in the NFL in 1970 and ‘71 with the Oakland Raiders, pulls up in a motorcycle that has a sidecar and intercepts Gronkowski, gruffly telling him, “And this time, you won’t miss. Get in.”

The duo then speed through the desert together, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Weathers starred as Apollo Creed in the first four “Rocky” films and appeared in “The Mandalorian,” “Predator,” and “Happy Gilmore,” along with dozens of other movies and television shows.

Born Jan. 14, 1948, in New Orleans, Weathers went on to appear in more than 75 films and TV shows in a career that spanned five decades, Deadline reported. His credits include appearances on “Arrested Development,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” “ER,” and as Combat Carl in the “Toy Story” franchise.

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Through the years Kino. Rocky, USA, 1976, Regie: John G. Avildsen, Darsteller: Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers. (Photo by FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images) (United Archives/FilmPublicityArchive/United Arch)

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