THAT Surprising Parks & Rec Cameo In Chris Pratt’s New Sci-Fi Action Movie Explained

Warning: Mild SPOILER lies ahead for Mercy!Chris Pratt comes face-to-face with a ruthless AI and a surprising Parks and Recreation reunion in his new sci-fi thriller.

Helmed by Wanted's Timur Bekmambetov, Mercy sees Pratt star as decorated LAPD detective Chris Raven, who works in the near future in which violent crime has escalated to dangerous levels, leading to the creation of the AI system, Mercy Court, in which AI judges put defendants on trial and give them 90 minutes to prove their innocence. When Raven's wife is murdered, and he's the primary suspect, he finds himself put into the very system he helped create and races to prove his innocence.

As he pours over various security and news footage, Mercy sees Pratt reuniting with Parks and Recreation's Jay Jackson, starring in the sci-fi thriller as a Los Angeles newscaster. In an interview with ScreenRant's Ash Crossan for the film, Pratt opened up about Jackson's surprise cameo, recalling the early days of casting and the discussion of who should play the character, to which he immediately stepped in and told the team, "I know exactly who we need to cast in this role":

Chris Pratt: I want you to take a look at a guy named Jay Jackson that I worked with on Parks and Rec, and I think people will get a little Easter egg for the Parks and Rec fans. They’ll get a kick out of that. So I got to be the person who helped make that casting decision.

When asked whether he'd prefer to prove his innocence to the Mercy Court, following in his character's footsteps, or The Perdple's Court, the Parks and Recreation humorous twist on the similarly-named reality show, Pratt laughed and cited the latter.

Though having made his acting debut with Showtime's Dexter, and since been seen in everything from The CW's Supergirl to Pratt's new film, Parks and Recreation still remains one of Jackson's bigger acting roles to date. Having transitioned from a 25-year career as a reporter for KCAL-9 in Los Angeles to acting, he's frequently appeared as news anchor-type characters throughout his career, particularly that of Perd Hapley, whose goofy personality he said was partly inspired by fellow real life newscaster Furnell Chatman.

Much like Jackson, Parks and Recreation memorably served as the true launching point for Pratt into mainstream popularity after his roles in Everwood and Wanted before it. But, more interestingly, Jackson and Pratt's reunion in Mercy is the first the former's made with any of his former co-stars in a blockbuster production. Some of his voice acting roles have brought him back together with other fan-favorite Parks and Recreation alums, including Jenny Slate in Netflix's Electric State and both Fred Armisen and Keegan-Michael Key in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Given much of the Parks and Recreation cast and crew memorably reunited on the picket line of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, which Pratt was unable to attend, his and Jackson's collaboration in Mercy is sure to come as a welcome reunion for longtime fans of the classic sitcom. And with his docket still full of other blockbuster projects that could have big ensemble rosters, it will be interesting to see where Pratt looks to sneak the next Parks and Recreation cameo into.