Universal settles lawsuit claiming the movie Yesterday deceived audiences into thinking Ana De Armas was a star in the film

Last Updated on April 25, 2024

It almost seems like a common phenomenon that audiences see scenes in a movie trailer that don’t actually appear in the final movie. Sometimes, in the case of CGI-laden blockbusters, they can alter the location of a scene from a trailer to another location in the final cut of the film. Sometimes, even a hint of a subplot from a trailer can be cut from the movie altogether. This is what has seemingly happened with the Beatles-themed comedy Yesterday from Danny Boyle. The trailer for Yesterday featured a scene where Ana De Armas was presumably making a cameo, as she does not appear on the cast list for the movie.

Universal was sued by Peter Michael Rosza and Conor Woulfe, viewers who had seen De Armas in the trailer and thought she would be a prominent part of the film, except her appearance winded up getting cut from the movie. They filed a lawsuit with the claims of false advertisement, unjust enrichment and unfair competition. The Hollywood Reporter has now revealed that Universal settled the suit on terms that both parties agreed on, but have not been disclosed at this time.

The suit had stated, “Unable to rely on fame of the actors playing Jack Malik or Ellie to maximize ticket and movie sales and rentals, Defendant consequently used Ms. De Armas’s fame, radiance and brilliance to promote the film by including her scenes in the movie trailers advertising Yesterday.”

The settlement would come after the plaintiffs encountered a series of setbacks. According to THR, “Last year, the court dismissed most claims in the lawsuit and denied class certification. U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson found that Rosza and Woulfe didn’t rely on alleged misrepresentations from Universal when they made the decision to watch the film, concluding that their injuries were ‘self-inflicted.’”

THR also stated that De Armas was, in fact, initially cast in more than just a cameo, but as a possible love interest (one who would seemingly threaten the potential relationship of the two main leads) in a subplot. However, her part would ultimately end up on the cutting room floor. The practice of trailer editing can sometimes happen before the movie itself has wrapped filming or been cut together in finality, so it is possible the trailer editors were not aware of De Armas’ plot getting taken out and the remanence of that story ended up in the trailer.