Hollywood's weirdest promotional tie-in products, from a Star Trek coffin to a Shrek TV

For decades, the anticipation of a blockbuster film has extended far beyond the film itself. Each summer, the biggest releases are found across toy stores, food aisles at the supermarket, and anywhere else studios can think to promote their merchandise.

But not all movie merchandise is limited to T-shirts and action figures, with some studios choosing to create products that will grab headlines and go viral on social media in the process. Some of these are perplexing failures, while others are irreverent fun and generate the kind of discussion that the film's marketing team had in mind.

Last week, coinciding with the release of Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine, a pair of Xbox controllers were released that are modelled on the titular characters. On the face of it, the controllers look perfectly normal, but turning them around reveals that they have detachable rear ends, a goofy addition to be sure.

The controllers follow a long tradition of peculiar motion picture tie-ins that have amazed and dumbfounded in equal measure. Here are more crazy merch releases from over the years.

The Matrix Reloaded – Mobile phone

The first Matrix film, released in 1999, had one of the most memorable mobile phone scenes in film history. In it, Neo as played by Keanu Reeves, opens an envelope that reveals a sleek Nokia phone that suddenly starts ringing.

On the call was Morpheus as played by Laurence Fishburne, who directs Neo on where to go and when to avoid capture by goons. The exact Nokia phone became highly desirable for fans of the film, and with a sequel releasing four years later, the expectation that Nokia would return with another futuristic-looking phone.

What fans got instead was disappointing Samsung phone that glowed in the neon green colour associated with the film. The phone also contained wallpapers and screen fades reminiscent of the numbers and codes that appear to make up the world of the film.

Street Fighter: The Movie – Video game

One of the most famous and beloved game series, Street Fighter received the big screen treatment in 1994 starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia. The film had many of the recognisable characters from the games, some even showing off their signature fight moves.

To help promote the film among gamers, a new Street Fighter game was produced and released. Unlike all precious games in the series though, this one contained digitised images of the characters rather than their usual artworks.

This move was obviously an attempt to capture the rising popularity of the Mortal Kombat games, which revolutionised the use of digitised images for its characters. Unfortunately, this game would be badly received among both Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat fans alike, as it was doing half of what each fanbase wants from their games.

Star Trek – Coffins

One of the most emotional scenes in the Star Trek saga is the funeral of Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan after he sacrificed himself to save his crewmates. To this day, the scene is a tear-jerker among hardcore fans and newcomers alike.

Ahead of JJ Abrams’s 2009 reboot of the series, the film’s production company Paramount teamed up with Eternal Image, a company that would produce Star Trek-themed coffins and urns. The two products produced were a coffin shaped like the torpedo coffin which Spock was rested in, and an urn designed to look like it is holding the remains of a member of Star Fleet, the galactic force from the series.

Shrek – Everything

The Shrek films have become something of an cultural phenomenon since the release of the first film in 2001, both sincerely and later more ironically. Following the acclaimed first film, two sequels followed, both bringing with them a rich selection of products for fans to buy, whether their love is sincere or not.

And perhaps the best thing about Shrek merchandise for fans is that it's almost always bizarre. There's something about his goofy ogre smile, his bright green colour and his tiny ears that make it so ridiculous to see on just about anything.

Some of the more peculiar products have been a collaboration with fast-food chain McDonalds to release a Shrek-themed McFlurry which was mostly bits of mint Aero chocolate mixed in with the vanilla ice cream. The accompanying tag line “Mint Ogre-Load” made for good social media fuel.

But things may have peaked with the Shrek television from 2006. Shaped like the head of the green ogre, the small TV set has become a collector's item in recent years, as more fans clamour to add it to their Shrek shrines.

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 3D – Black Darth Vader burger

The first of George Lucas’s prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, returned to theatres in 2012 in 3D screenings. To promote the film in Europe, French fast-food chain Quick released a trio of burgers themed around famous characters from the series.

The Yoda Burger and the Darth Maul burger looked relatively normal, with hints of their relation to the characters. The standout of the three was a black bun burger themed around the Darth Vader, one of the main villains of the series.

The burger cost €4.90 and was named “Dark Vador”. Beet dye was used to give the bun its black colour. A similar looking burger from Burger King used concentrated dye in its black buns which notoriously caused reportedly uncomfortable results for some. It is unknown if the Dark Vador caused similar issues.

Dune: Part Two – Popcorn bucket

The cinemagoing experience is seldom complete without popcorn. For one of the biggest cinema releases of the year, Dune: Part Two, US cinema chain AMC Theatres sold a promotional popcorn bucket for the film that caused head scratching to say the least.

One of the most breathtaking elements of the Dune films is the sandworm, a creature known as Shai Hulud on the desert planet Arrakis. These sandworms swim through the sands and present a danger to the colonisers of the planet but have been tamed and are used for transportation by the natives, the Fremen.

For the popcorn bucket, a sandworm with its mouth open serves as the entry point for the salty treats. Confusingly, to grab the popcorn, one needs to insert their hands into the sandworm and retrieve it while being careful not to be perturbed by the spikes in its throat.

The whole experience is confounding, sparking a social media frenzy which grew its popularity with all manner of memes and funny imagery, and has inspired a legion of imitators, including for Deadpool & Wolverine as well as the upcoming Alien: Romulus.

James Bond – Candles

The suave British spy James Bond has been gallivanting and foiling global domination plots since his first appearance on film in 1962’s Dr No. Since then, there have been 25 films and six actors who portrayed the character.

The James Bond fandom has been keen on all manner of toys and trinkets related to the films, but even they were surprised when a candle was made available for sale that was named 007, the spy’s code name.

The candle, which is produced by fragrance house Tocca, is described as having “a rich leathery aroma designed to turn your living room into Bond world”.

• Remittance charges will be tackled by blockchain

• UAE's monumental and risky Mars Mission to inspire future generations, says minister

• Could the UAE drive India's economy?

• News has a bright future and the UAE is at the heart of it

• Architecture is over - here's cybertecture

• The National announces Future of News journalism competition

• Round up: Experts share their visions of the world to come

• Remittance charges will be tackled by blockchain

• UAE's monumental and risky Mars Mission to inspire future generations, says minister

• Could the UAE drive India's economy?

• News has a bright future and the UAE is at the heart of it

• Architecture is over - here's cybertecture

• The National announces Future of News journalism competition

• Round up: Experts share their visions of the world to come

• Remittance charges will be tackled by blockchain

• UAE's monumental and risky Mars Mission to inspire future generations, says minister

• Could the UAE drive India's economy?

• News has a bright future and the UAE is at the heart of it

• Architecture is over - here's cybertecture

• The National announces Future of News journalism competition

• Round up: Experts share their visions of the world to come