AMC’s Popcorn Bucket For ‘Gladiator 2’ Is Giving Rap Fans MF DOOM Vibes

Getty Image

The 20th anniversary of MF DOOM‘s fifth album MM..FOOD is right around the corner, and there’s a whole ton of new merch coming to celebrate — including, apparently, a popcorn bucket…?

Okay, so AMC isn’t really releasing one of its infamous custom concession containers to commemorate DOOM’s high-concept, edible-inspired album… but you can pretend it is with the bucket for Gladiator 2, which fans have noted bears a distinctive resemblance to the rap supervillain’s trademark mask.

Of course, there’s an obvious reason for the MF DOOM vibes coming from the Gladiator 2 bucket: DOOM’s mask was a modified prop from the first Gladiator film worn by the titular protagonist played by Russell Crowe. It just so happens that in the intervening 24 years since the first film, the design has become much more associated with DOOM in pop culture, leading to similar, very funny misunderstandings such as the time actress Sharon Stone posted a photo on social media wearing the mask, generating a slew of jokes about her actually being the iconic underground rapper.

In reality, DOOM was the not-so-secret identity of Daniel Dumile, formerly known as Zev Love X from the early ’90s rap group KMD. However, he still did manage to keep one aspect of his civilian identity out of the public record: His birthday, which rap fans mistook for decades before his death in 2020.