A great twist ending, big reveal or hidden meaning can make a movie even more fun to
watch and rewatch, but sometimes, it's the fans who end up crafting a theory that makes
the original film seem even more brilliant than it could on its own. Not every fan theory
is as inspired or clever as the best of them, but every so often, they make watching a classic
movie twice as much fun - and can even make the original writers look bad. Here are Screen
Rant's 10 Movie Theories That Completely Change Popular Films.
The Lord of the Rings (New Line Cinema)
From the moment the giant eagles arrived to fly Frodo and Sam out of Mordor, fans and
critics all asked the same question: Why didn't Gandalf the Grey just get the eagles to fly
the ring into Mordor and destroy it the moment he found it? One fan theory claims that was
Gandalf's plan the entire time. But with Sauron's spies lurking everywhere, he couldn't share
the plan until the Fellowship was in the clear, on the other side of the mountains where The
evil wizard Saruman couldn't stop them, or send word ahead to Mordor. But when Gandalf
ended up falling into the depths of Moria, he'd forgotten about it completely when he
returned as Gandalf the White. Apparently, his last words to the Fellowship tried to
clue them in: "Fly, you fools!"
The Nightmare Before Christmas (Buena Vista Pictures)
Tim Burton's stop motion musical was a surprise hit, making Jack Skellington, his ghost dog
Zero and the vampires, skeletons, and zombie residents of Halloweentown a kids' classic.
But fans started getting suspicious when years later, Burton released The Corpse Bride, the
story of a tall, thin man named Victor who took a trip to the Land of the Dead, a colourful
world of skeletons and zombies, reuniting with his skeletal dog, Scraps. And when Frankenweenie
starred a young boy - also named Victor - bringing his dog Sparky back from the dead, one theory
emerged: Burton was telling the story of one man, and his dog, but in reverse order. The
theory isn't perfect, but as explanations of the similarities go, it's hard to beat.
Mad Max Fury Road (Warner Bros.)
When the mantle of Mad Max was handed to a new actor for Fury Road, it was clear fans
would need to use their imagination. Officially, the character was still Max, in a universe
where age doesn't really matter. But as soon as the movie released, die hard fans saw a
secret story underneath the surface. The grunts and wild side of Max could be a result of
years spent in the wasteland, but one theory claims Tom Hardy wasn't playing Max Rockatansky
at all, but the young "Feral Kid" from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, all grown up. Narrating
Fury Road just like he did the Road Warrior, the kid grew up to idolize Max, keeping his
music box as a gift and dressing like his former hero. Only when he truly became a hero
did he take up his idol's name for himself: "Max...my name is Max." True or not, it's
worth another viewing to see for yourself.
James Bond (MGM/Columbia Pictures)
The multiple actors who've played 007 make it hard to see the film series as one long
story. But one creative theory solves the problem: what if James Bond is only a codename,
reserved for the agents claiming the 007 title? It would explain why James regularly uses
his real name despite being a secret agent, and would help MI-6's top agent gain legendary
status around the world. When one gets too old or is captured, a younger agent takes
his place as Bond. If it sounds good to you, fans can also look at Michael Bay's The Rock
as something of a sequel to Diamonds Are Forever, with Sean Connery playing a British spy who
spent three decades in prison, since according to America and England...he never existed...
Drag Me To Hell (Universal Pictures)
Sam Raimi's grotesque horror story of a young woman cursed by an elderly Witch fits right
in with the director's Evil Dead roots, but what if the movie isn't supernatural at all?
If you pay attention to the character's childhood obesity, and the struggle to leave her addict
mother and her Southern accent behind, the movie makes way more sense as a woman with
an eating disorder slowly driving herself insane - according to one theory. Notice how
the vomiting Witch always shows up in the kitchen, or tries to shove things down the
main character's throat? Or how a piece of cake comes to life to keep her from eating?
Eventually her illusions drive her past the brink, and she commits suicide by jumping
in front of a train, convincing herself it's the work of a curse, not the side effects
of starving herself beyond reason. Dark…
Harry Potter (Warner Bros.)
The story of the greatest boy wizard began under a staircase in the home of the Dursleys,
the worst adoptive parents you could ever hope for. But why were Harry Potter's aunt
and uncle so cruel, and why would his mother have left her son with such awful people?
One answer can be found when fans remember the effect of a single Horcrux in the Deathly
Hallows. The piece of Voldemort's soul contained in a cursed locket fed on those around it,
darkening their spirits until even the trio of best friends were paranoid and filled with
hate and jealousy. If Dumbledore was actually right when he called Harry a kind of Horcrux,
it explains why his aunt and uncle might have been a loving family when Harry arrived - before
years of sharing their home with a piece of Voldemort made them the cruel monsters audiences
saw.
The Pixar Theory (Disney/Pixar)
Everyone knows all about Pixar's love of tiny connections and Easter eggs all hinting that
the characters exist in the very same universe. But a larger theory asks one big question:
what if every Pixar film is telling one massive story, but it's just told out of order? It's
clear that the company BnL visible in Pixar films is responsible for killing Earth in
Wall-E, but only after the age of The Incredibles' superheroes ended, with their magic passed
on to intelligent animals, or cars. Some parts of the theory are hard to believe, but the
best idea claims the stars of Monsters, Inc. were using closets to travel back in time,
eventually leading Boo centuries back in time trying to find her furry friend. That explains
why the Witch in Brave has carvings of Sully and the modern day Pizza Planet truck.
Star Wars (Lucasfilm/Disney)
There's nothing the Jedi love more than a prophecy, and the Star Wars prequel trilogy
was based on probably the most important one ever written:
"In the time of greatest despair a child shall be born
who will destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force"
Officially, Anakin Skywalker was this Chosen One, who tragically fell to the Dark Side
and took the Galaxy and Jedi Order with him ("you were the chosen one" line from Obi-wan
in Episode 3 before their end fight, and before Obi finishes him off). But some fans point
out that Anakin wasn't born in a time of great despair - his son Luke was. It was a twist
of fate that led Luke into becoming a Jedi, and he ended up destroying the Sith by saving
his father. The conclusion: the Jedi thought Anakin was the Chosen One, and he cracked
under the pressure. But it was his son Luke all along - who didn't just redeem his father,
but proved the prophecy true after all. If you ask us, that's the best way of linking
the trilogies that George Lucas never even thought of.
Aladdin (Disney)
Older Disney fans may not remember that the story of Aladdin begins with a quippy shopkeeper
in Agrabah looking to sell the audience on a golden lamp. But when the stars get their
happy ending, the shopkeeper never returns. Theories began to spread that the entire movie
was just made up to sell the lamp, since Robin Williams voiced both the Genie and the energetic
peddler. Either that, or freeing Genie turned him into a powerless human. Thankfully the
co-directors recently confirmed that the Aladdin originally ended with the shopkeeper revealing
himself to be Genie, making the entire movie a retelling of how he earned his freedom years,
maybe even centuries before. Instead, Disney kept things simple - and open to sequels.
The Thing (Universal Pictures)
Every horror movie can learn a lesson from John Carpenter's antarctic horror story, where
an alien capable of mimicking humans starts picking off a research team one by one. In
the end, only Kurt Russell's hero MacReady and Keith David's Childs. The movie ends with
the men slowly freezing to death, wondering if the other is the alien in disguise. But
one theory makes the ending a lot clearer. When MacReady is introduced, he's losing a
game of chess against a computer, but he gets the last laugh with a glass of Scotch (computer
fried clip). The same scene is repeated in the real life game of chess at the end - only
it's not Scotch in the bottle. It's a Molotov cocktail from earlier in the movie, and Childs
drinking straight gasoline reveals he's the alien. MacReady laughs, since the script - and
the actor - confirm he's hiding a flamethrower just outside of the frame.
If you're a fan of Star Wars like us, make sure you check out our friends at The Film
Theorists with their new ground breaking video about how Luke Skywalker might have turned
to the Dark Side in the Force Awakens! They go in depth and bring forward new clues and
proof about this incredible theory! Make sure you subscribe while you're there! Thanks!
Those are the best theories fans have come up with that we could find, but which ones
have we missed? Let us know what you think of them in the comments, and be sure to subscribe
to our channel for more videos like this one! Thanks!