Taika Waititi has launched a campaign with a Finnish coffee brand that has some people expressing concern he's about to help launch an apocalypse similar to that depicted in the PlayStation game and TV show The Last Of Us.
Waititi released a promo online touting his appointment as Chief Creative Officer for Taika, a new beverage startup.
"I've always wanted to have a beverage of some sort," Waititi told AdWeek.
"And there are too many vodkas and too many tequilas out there with celebrities attached. And this one already had my name on it."
But while many have approved the new advert for "delicious creative fuel in a can", some have gone online to point out concerns about one of the ingredients in the drink: cordyceps.
In one freeze frame of the ingredients shared online, the phrase "Cordyceps for energy" is blazoned on the screen, prompting many to comment on concerns that this could be the start of the apocalypse.
In PlayStation game and TV series The Last Of Us, a Cordyceps brain infection is a parasitic fungal infection which devastates mankind and morphs people into zombie-like creatures.
"Nice try Magic. Cordyceps is the zombie fungus that killed everyone in The Last of Us," one said on Twitter.
"This coffee would have to be really, really good for me to drink that stuff," another said.
"You can't trick me…" another posted.
"If this had anything else I would be on it," said another wary commenter.
However, maybe Aotearoa doesn't need to panic yet - the Taika website says the American brand is available overseas, but currently can't be found on shelves here.
