Fan theories very often gain a certain momentum when you have a rabid fanbase.
The Internet's made them more popular and allowed people to put a ton of research and in-depth knowledge to work on possibly cracking or even rewriting entire films with fan theories. For the most part, directors seem to view them with mild bemusement, but more than a few have stepped out and actively engaged with them.
Here's just some of our favourites we've read down through the years.
7. EVERY QUENTIN TARANTINO FILM IS IN THE SAME UNIVERSE
This one's got quite an amount of evidence to back it up. Let's begin with Kill Bill. The grave that Uma Thurman's character, Beatrix Kiddo, was buried in by Elle Driver belonged to Paula Schultz. What's the name of Christoph Waltz's character in Django Unchained? Dr. King Schultz. There's more. Schultz says in Django Unchained that he gave up dentistry some time before the film began which tracks with the date on Paula Schultz's grave. Django Unchained was set in 1858 and, as Schultz explains, he became a bounty hunter five years hence - that's 1853. What year did Paula Schultz die according to her gravestone? 1853. BOOM.
6. WILLY WONKA MURDERS CHILDREN AND IT WAS ALL PRE-MEDITATED
Roald Dahl was known for his witty, acerbic humour and the fact that his books could be enjoyed by children and adults alike. More often than not, he infused his children's novels with his darker sensibilities. So it goes with his most famous creation, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. If you take a look at the film, when Augustus Gloop gets sucked up into the tubes, they all head off into the weird, LSD-trip tunnel. How come there were no seats for him, eh? Prior knowledge. He knew they'd have lost two bodies by then. Or how about when he's driving the cream car and there's only four seats? Again, prior knowledge. He knew he'd lose more bodies then. So how come we don't see any of them afterwards? BECAUSE THEY'RE DEAD. Want something even darker?
5. PETER PAN WAS THE GRIM REAPER AND ALL THE LOST BOYS WERE DEAD
Let's think about it. Captain Hook was terrified of clocks. Clocks symbolise the eventual ending of things and how time runs out. Likewise, Peter Pan can fly and is forever youthful. Although you might think the Grim Reaper is usually a skull and a cloak, there are some representations of him as a child. The theory goes that Never-Land is actually heaven, the Lost Boys are actually dead and those living there are spirits. What's more, Wendy was probably sick with polio - which was very common at the time - and she had a near-death experience. Childhood ruined yet?
4. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY WAS ALL ABOUT SEX
Stanley Kubrick was known for infusing his films with subtext, symbolism and imagery. 2001: A Space Odyssey had a lot of motifs about life, death and rebirth; beginning literally with the birth of man and the destructive nature of evolution. However, the third act of the film might be about something altogether more personal. It was about sex. Let's look at it like this. The Discovery was a giant penis-shaped spacecraft. The scientists, inside said spacecraft, were sperm. In fact, the sleeping chambers they're kept in look like sperm. Eventually, after they all die, only one sperm makes it to the Monolith. Once the sperm / scientist reaches the Monolith, we see a kaleidoscope of sound and colour. That's the act of sex. We see the scientist in the Renaissance Room, as it's known. That's the womb. He's fertilised in said womb, going from sperm to man to star-baby.
3. OBI-WAN KENOBI LEFT LUKE SKYWALKER WITH HIS AUNT AND UNCLE ON TATTOOINE BECAUSE DARTH VADER COULD NEVER FACE HIS PAST
It's quite simple, really. At the end of Episode III, Yoda, Obi-Wan and Bail Antilles are figuring out what to do with the twins, Luke and Leia. Bail takes the daughter and raises it as his own. Luke, on the other hand, can't go with her because, well, she can't. It's safer if they're apart. So when Yoda tells Obi-Wan to bring baby Luke to Tattooine, he knows right well that Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker has completely destroyed everything that came before. He'll never be able to go back to Tattooine, that's his homeworld and where his mother died. Why would he go back?
2. EVERY PIXAR FILM IS IN THE SAME UNIVERSE
We'll need a video for this one. Take a look.
1. JAMES BOND WAS AN ASSUMED NAME, EACH JAMES BOND DIED / RETIRED TO MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW ONE
In a way, this makes a heckuva lorra sense. Let's look at GoldenEye and the first appearance of Judi Dench as M. Pierce Brosnan's Bond casually mentions that her predecessor kept some particular drink, which she flatly refuses. We know that M is an assumed title, so why wouldn't this hold true for James Bond? Moreover, how is that M has aged, looks exactly the same and when Pierce Brosnan finishes up in Die Another Day, she's still there in Casino Royale? Moreover, George Lazenby's Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service is only in it for ONE film. And what happens at the end of that film? He gets married, but his wife is assassinated and the final image is that of a heartbroken Bond. Would you want to keep going after that?
