Fans Sue Universal for Cutting Ana de Armas Out of ‘Yesterday’
Ana de Armas has dominated Hollywood in recent years, with roles in major movies including “Knives Out” and “No Time to Die.” But it’s her one role that audiences did not get to see that’s prompted a lawsuit by some of her biggest fans.
The actress was cast in Danny Boyle’s 2019 film “Yesterday,” which imagined a world where everyone has forgotten about The Beatles except for one man. She played a competing love interest for Jack Malik, the film’s protagonist portrayed by Himesh Patel. However, her scenes ended up being cut for time and the actress did not appear in the final version of the film. But de Armas can still be seen in the film’s trailer, and two of her biggest fans claim that they rented the movie on Amazon Prime in October 2021 specifically to see her. They felt misled after learning that she is not in the film and have filed a class action lawsuit against Universal. Accusing the studio of deceptive marketing, they are seeking $5 million in damages.
More from IndieWire
“Because consumers were promised a movie with Ana de Armas by the trailer for ‘Yesterday,’ but did not receive a movie with any appearance of Ana de Armas at all, such consumers were not provided with any value for their rental or purchase,” the lawsuit states. The plaintiff’s lawyers went on to praise the “Knives Out” star, saying “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’ fame, radiance, and brilliance to promote the film by including her scenes in the movie trailers advertising ‘Yesterday.'”
Universal declined to comment on the case. Other lawsuits alleging misleading advertising by film studios have generally been dismissed by appeals courts in recent years.
This is not the first time that fans have complained about Ana de Armas being underutilized in a movie. Her relatively short amount of screen time in “No Time to Die” attracted some online outrage, but it remains to be seen whether this will pave the way for similar lawsuits regarding talent in advertising.
Best of IndieWire
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.