The soundtrack to Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was released on May 4, 1999. The movie itself didn’t come out until May 19. Why is this important? Because track 15 on the soundtrack is “Qui-Gon’s Noble End.” It doesn’t take a droid who’s fluent in over six million forms of communication to translate what “noble end” means.
This isn’t the only time that a movie has been spoiled through merchandising, but it’s the most notorious example — although Stranger Things might be a close second.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Images have leaked online from an official Monopoly game tie-in pegged to the long-awaited new season of the retro sci-fi hit. The images from the game’s cards — which first started circling last month — spoil major plot points in the new episodes.” THR doesn’t reveal the spoilers, and neither will we, so you’ll have to look elsewhere to see if Pacific Avenue is “Will’s Haircut’s Noble End.”
Co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer reportedly had a “total meltdown” about the blunder. They weren’t consulted about the game, as the Stranger Things brand has gotten so large that even a three-year break isn’t enough time to keep on top of everything.
One source close to the streamer’s tentpole series said that while its producers have a lot of involvement in, and approvals over, the vast majority of the show’s promotions and consumer products, the sheer scale and breadth of the Stranger Things franchising world is so incomparable to any other show at Netflix that the Monopoly game must have accidentally passed go.
Luckily, those who don’t want to be spoiled don’t have to wait much longer: the extra-long Stranger Things season four premieres on May 27.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
