Remember Megamind? The 2010 DreamWorks animated movie about a supervillain (voiced by Will Ferrell) who must become a hero to save the city he has terrorized for years?
You might have forgotten it, but movie lovers in Detroit have not — because one theater in the area still has the old billboard (from 2010! 14 years ago!) hanging outside. Or at least it did until this week, as it is finally getting replaced.
The story has been covered extensively by The Detroit News, who first wrote about the billboard, which hangs outside the AMC Star Great Lakes 25, last month. They claimed the history of the billboard is “tough to trace” although in all likelihood it was covered by another billboard for many years and then when that other ad came down several years ago (presumably during the Covid era, when there were no new movies to promote) it re-exposed, putting this decaying sign for Megamind out in the open for all the world to see.
That’s how it’s been for “at least the last several years.” You can see this hilariously sad thing for yourself below:
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The Detroit News tried to track down the story from the theater; the multiplex’s manager directed them to AMC corporate, who didn’t initially respond. But then they did — to say the “sacred sign” (as local fans call it) was finally going to be covered up. To commemorate this very strange relic, the theater even showed Megamind one last time.
The irony is they are taking this thing down right when DreamWorks is making the first Megamind films and series in over a decade. A new movie, Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate, will be streaming soon on Peacock, followed by an animated series, Megamind Rules!
So was DreamWorks playing fourth-dimensional chess this whole time? Leaving up a 14 year old billboard so that viral excitement about the property would grow and then taking it down just before Megamind’s return to generate more hype? Uh, no, I don‘t think so. But the timing is funny.
Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate premieres on Peacock on March 1.
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