Super Bowl 2020: Lil Nas X Squares off With ‘Ranch’ Star Sam Elliott in ‘Old Town Road’ Doritos Commercial

Doritos just premiered its 2020 Super Bowl commercial in the third quarter, which stars The Ranch actor Sam Elliott and “Old Town Road” rapper Lil Nas X as a couple of gunslingers in the old West. The teaser ads previously prefaced the mini spaghetti western with Elliott walking into an old saloon and throwing back some whiskey while spoken-word-reciting the lyrics to the the hit tune. As he begins to hear the rumble of some deep bass, he heads outside to see Lil Nas X riding up on his horse in an all-black ensemble. Enter the remainder of the Doritos ad as a dance party showdown between the two.

The commercial culminates in an epic showdown at high noon, between Lil Nas and Elliott, who stand their ground and then fire off some wicked moves, each attempting to out-dance the other for the prize of a bag of Doritos Cool Ranch chips. Ultimately, Lil Nas tags in his horse to help him serve up the final blow, and emerges victorious.

In an interview with AdAge, Elliott spoke about what it was like dancing in the commercial, joking, how he was a little apprehensive about it.

“I tell ya, at my age, I was a little concerned about it,” Elliott said. “Thanks to the technical world we’re in, with CGI and all of that, initially it was proposed to me that I wouldn’t have to do anything but shake my hips a little bit. Once I was working with the choreographer and speaking to the director about it, I knew it was going to be more than that. That’s why I went out of my way to spend as much time in the rehearsals as possible, because I wanted to do as much as I could.”

Elliott also reveled that he was familiar with “Old Town Road” ahead of the ad, and praised Lil Nas X for his creativity.

“I found him incredible. I was curious going out there … here was this kid who was virtually unknown to anyone a year ago,” he said. “With this thing to blow up as it has, I was curious to know how he was handling it all at 19 years old. I found him a pretty solid kid. I don’t think anything has gone to his head. He’s very mature.”

Notably, just last week — ahead of the big game — Lil Nas X took home two Grammy awards for “Old Town Road.” The first was for best music video, and the second for best pop duo/group performance, which he accepted along with Billy Ray Cyrus, who appears on on the award-winning remix of the track.

In a statement following their win, Cyrus said he was “so honored” to win Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. “I’d like to dedicate both to Kobe and his beautiful daughter. Sending my thoughts and prayers to his family and friends during this difficult time,” he said.

Sadly, the awards ceremony came the same day as the tragic death of L.A. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. During the show, Lil Nas X and Cyrus took the stage to perform an all-star version of the song, joined by the likes of Mason Ramsey, Diplo, and BTS. The performance was a hit with fans and viewers everywhere, many of whom took to social media, at the time, to praise the epic performance.

Super Bowl LIV airs Sunday, Feb. 2 on FOX.