Burger King employees soon will have a great power: the ability to serve burgers on red buns.
And with great power comes great responsibility.
The fast food chain is set to launch a co-promotion with "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" -- an animated movie in the Marvel film franchise that will hit theaters June 2. That will include a Whopper served on a red bun and topped with black sesame seeds, matching the color scheme of Miles Morales' wardrobe in the new movie.
There will also be a "Spider-Verse” Sundae, which features soft serve ice cream topped with black and red chocolate popping candies.
Super heroes and fast-food restaurants have long been like the Batman and Robin of summer-blockbuster dynamic duos.
Among the earliest success stories was Taco Bell's partnership with the 1989 film "Batman" starring Michael Keaton, in which the chain offered four collectible Batman cups. The cup was free with a purchase of a 32-ounce drink and included free refills and cinnamon twists. It also ushered in a new era of movie marketing.
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Two years later, McDonald's collaborated with Indiana Jones by offering VHS copies of one of the three movies in the trilogy for $5.99 with the purchase of any large sandwich to promote "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" television series.
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McDonald's has also long used Happy Meal to promote popular films, giving kids a movie-themed toy to go along with their burger and fries. That began with "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" in 1979 and will continue with upcoming releases like the live-action adaptation of Disney's "The Little Mermaid."
Wonder Woman got her own frozen yogurt flavor in 2017 when Pinkberry released the "Power Berry Frozen Yogurt." It combined strawberry and raspberry yogurt and was topped with fresh raspberries, honey almond granola, and dark chocolate crisps.
Little Caesars in 2022 released a bat-shaped pizza and calzone combination to promote the release of "The Batman." Called "The Batman Calzony," it featured calzone crust filled with garlic white sauce, cheese, and julienned pepperoni, combined with a pepperoni pizza.
It looked great on the commercial. In person, at least in some cases, it looked as if it was delivered after a wild ride in the Batmobile...
This, however, could be the first time the color of a fast-food menu item has changed to promote a movie. Burger King has dabbled with colored buns for various Halloween promotions that introduced buns in shades of black, green and orange.
The "Spider-Verse" red buns will be available at participating Burger King restaurants nationwide from May 15 through June 21.
