Put on your movie conspiracy theory tinfoil hat for a minute…
What if sweet, blank-faced Danny Torrance was to blame for the horrors that befell his family in the Overlook hotel. A popular theory says that because Danny’s imaginary friend ‘Tony’ lived in his mouth and hid away in his stomach, it was a clear sign that Danny suffered from psychosis and may have used his ‘shine’ to drive his father insane by conjuring up hallucinations inside Jack Torrance’s head. This would also mean that Danny was never even slightly afraid of the creepy twins, because they were his own creations…
Convinced? No? Well, don’t remove the hat just yet…
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10 Titanic and The Terminator
There have been several weird fan theories about the 1997 epic, Titanic. The most well-known of these is the one that says Jack Dawson was a time-traveller who came from the future to prevent Rose from jumping into the icy Atlantic. This led to a change of course for the Titanic’s fate. How, you may ask? Well, if Rose had indeed jumped into the water, the ship would have stopped to allow for a search and rescue effort. This would have delayed the Titanic to the point where warmer weather showed up, meaning clearer visibility and ta-daa, no accident. This is all according to the same theory of course.
An expanded version of this theory says that Jack wasn’t only a time traveller who mentioned things that hadn’t existed in 1912 such as Lake Wissota and the roller-coaster on the Santa Monica Pier, but he was sent specifically from the same future in which Skynet took over Earth. His mission: to protect the ancestor of John Connor who was none other than Rose DeWitt Bukater. This apparently means that Jack hailed from the Terminator universe and that Rose was grandmother to Sarah Conner who eventually gave birth to John Connor who, in turn, became the leader of the Resistance.[1]
9 Lefthanded Loki
Loki is one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Universe, despite his penchant for betraying those closest to him and shapeshifting into other Marvel characters to mock them. Fans of the god of mischief have come up with interesting theories regarding Loki’s past appearances in Marvel movies and what he may be up to while waiting to return to the silver screen.
One of the most enduring theories is that Loki didn’t die at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, but instead appeared to the purple villain as a mirrored image of himself. He then flitted off to Valhalla to consult with Odin. Proof is provided in the scenes where the usually right-handed Loki uses his left hand to wield weapons. This includes the scene in Dark World when Loki fakes his own death as well as the scene in which he attempts to stab Thanos before the villain lifts him up and chokes him.
The Russo brothers have confirmed that Loki indeed succumbed to Thanos’ stranglehold, but diehard fans refuse to believe it, and prefer to hold on to the above theory instead.[2]
8 Dorothy’s parallel counterpart
The Wicked Witch of the East is a character made famous by the popular children’s story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. She was a middle-aged tyrant who wore Silver Shoes and forced the Munchkins into slavery. When the 1939 musical film, based on the story, was released, the silver shoes were changed to ruby slippers. The Wicked Witch famously met her end when Dorothy’s house landed on her after being swept up by a cyclone. Nothing remained of the Wicked Witch except the ruby slippers which Dorothy then started wearing.
A fan theory suggests that Dorothy had a parallel counterpart, which was none other than the Wicked Witch. This would also explain, according to the theory, why the ruby slippers fit Dorothy perfectly when she tried them on. The theory revolves around Dorothy not having had a dream, but instead having been sent to an alternate reality where she runs into the alternate version of herself: the Wicked Witch. Because the Witch was crushed at the beginning of the film, Dorothy just took her place in that particular reality.[3]
7 E.T. is a Jedi
The beloved wrinkly extra-terrestrial, E.T. made for a record-breaking film in 1982, surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time at the time. One of the overused misquotes originated from this film, namely “E.T. phone home”. E.T actually says, “E.T. home phone” after which Elliott and Gertie both say “E.T. phone home” which is where the confusion came in.
E.T. is also the source of many fan theories, including the far-out one that claims the cute little alien is in fact, a Jedi. The backstory of this theory includes Steven Spielberg and George Lucas being in film school together and becoming close friends. Furthermore, there are two references to Star Wars in E.T. Also, In Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace, released in 1999, the delegates of the Galactic Senate closely resemble E.T. In E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, E.T. heads straight for a trick or treater dressed as Yoda while muttering ‘’home”. This, according to the theory, means that Yoda and E.T. came into being at the same time and since Jedi Knights consist of a variety of species, it is likely that E.T. is a Jedi as well.[4]
6 Black Panther and The Lion King
Both Black Panther and The Lion King are awesome movies. And once fans started seeing similarities that ‘tied the two films’ together, a theory was born that said Black Panther could be a modern-day human version of The Lion King.
This theory mainly hinges on the above-mentioned similarities which include both main characters having a deceased father and feeling unworthy of ascending their waiting throne. Both also have an evil family member trying to usurp the throne. T’Challa and Simba both have strong mothers who take the lead during chaos, they both have love interests who tell them they are not to blame for their family tragedies and both characters fight for the throne at the end. Lastly, both films were huge blockbusters set in Africa (even though Wakanda is a fictional kingdom.)
And let’s not forget that John Kani who played T’Challa’s father in Black Panther also voiced Rafiki in the live action Lion King film released in 2019…[5]
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5 Harry Potter has a lot of soul
The Harry Potter phenomenon started with a series of hugely popular books which spilled over into a series of equally popular movies. The movies brought a host of magical creatures to life alongside Harry and his friends, including goblins, ghosts, a three-headed dog, trolls, dragons, unicorns, pixies, singing toads and werewolves.
One of the scariest creatures came in the form of a dementor. These beings feed on the happiness of humans, leaving them in a depressed state. The dementors in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban have the power to suck out a person’s soul through their mouth which leaves the unfortunate person in a vegetative state.
The dementors were highly attracted to Harry Potter himself, clinging to his scent at every opportunity. A fan theory suggests that Harry housed more soul that the average human (or wizard/witch) because he also held part of Voldemort’s soul. Therefore, there was a lot more to gain for the dementors as they would technically acquire two souls ‘for the price of one.’[6]
4 Are the Cullens vampires or faeries?
The Twilight Saga isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but nevertheless the books and subsequent movies raked in millions, respectively. Twilight fever gripped the world when the first movie was released in 2008 and Team Jacob and Team Edward became a real thing.
Those who hate the movies, often base their feelings on the many inconsistencies (and weirdness) that they present, including the ‘Edward-got-Bella-pregnant’ scenario, the ‘we-glitter-in-the-sun’ fiasco and the over-all stalkery creepiness of Edward Cullen.
Fans of the franchise have taken it upon themselves to make up for the many plot holes and strange happenings in the movies by coming up with several theories. This includes Bella being part-werewolf, providing a reason for Jacob to imprint on Renesmee. Another theory surmises that Bella is descended from vampires because her mother’s name is Renee which comes from ‘Renatus’ of which the feminine form is ‘Renata.’ Renata is the name of a vampire guard with the special power of deflecting physical attacks.
As for the glittery vampire skin, yet another theory has it that the Cullens are not actually vampires, but faeries which apparently would explain their love for the woods and their sparkliness.
And have you heard the one that says Jacob Black is part of the Black family in the Harry Potter universe? The connection was made because Harry Potter’s godfather is Sirius Black and an Animagus. Jacob, who can control his transformation into a giant wolf, is theorized to be an Animagus as well and therefore a magical part of the Harry Potter world.[7]
3 Pitch Perfect and 9/11
Pitch Perfect gave the world acapella mashups, Rebel Wilson in cringey scenes and the singing voice of Anna Kendrick. The first movie in the franchise became a sleeper hit and received mostly positive reviews. The two sequels that followed were also hits, even if the last movie received mostly mixed critic reviews.
Musical comedies are not usually dissected for hidden messages and so forth, but fans still made time to come up with specific theories for this particular film franchise. Of course, one of these theories say that because Kendrick sounds a lot like Kubrick there is a lot of parallels between Pitch Perfect and the documentary Room 237. Which obviously means that Pitch Perfect is an on-screen protest of 9/11.
Proof is provided via a parody YouTube video in which the narrator states that it is no accident that the first competition in the first film is held in New York. He points out that the Treblemakers do choreography that includes airplane motions and a sign in the crowd reads “A Capella is my Co-Pilot!” The narrator also darkly refers to the Barden Bellas being dressed in flight attendant uniforms when they enter the stage for their set. Furthermore, the Treblemakers consist of 9 members while there are 11 Barden Bellas.
George Bush gets a mention too, and things just get more convoluted (read: extremely weird) after that.
2 John Wick is set in a video game universe
John Wick is one of the coolest characters to have graced cinema screens in recent years. Fans couldn’t get enough of the first film and its popularity ensured a further 2 sequels with yet another 2 movies planned for 2022 and beyond.
Because Keanu Reeves also starred in The Matrix film franchise, it didn’t take long for a fan theory to rear its head. The theory says… wait for it… John Wick is in The Matrix. In the Matrix film, Neo tries to get out of the computer world, and in John Wick, John tries to get out of the criminal world. For most conspiracy theorists, that is more than enough proof that the character of John Wick was still in The Matrix during the course of the film/s.
Then there is the theory that says John Wick is literally set in a video game universe, which is said to explain the minimal reaction of bystanders and law enforcement to the brutal violence that takes place throughout the film/s.[8]
1 Wonder Woman and Moana
The DC movie universe is rife with fan theories that attempt to fill plot holes and create origin stories for characters with obscure backgrounds. These theories include the one where Martha Wayne fakes her own death and becomes Martha Kent, The Joker and Harley Quinn having children that were killed by Batman and Superman eventually killing off Alfred Pennyworth.
Wonder Woman is an integral part of the DC universe and has not escaped speculation either. One of the most enduring theories about Diana Prince has it that she and Moana are the same person. Yes, that Moana. The theory is based on Diana and Moana both living on beautiful islands, wearing similar clothing and being under the thumb of overbearing royal parents. The family members that encourage and inspire them, die and both go from young girls, living life on an island, to warriors.[9]
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