When it comes to popular movies, everyone's got theories.
There's just something so gratifying about diving deep into the finest details of a film
and coming up with a plausible connection others haven't yet seen.
Even more exhilarating are those times when those theories are eventually confirmed by
the people involved in a project.
In the case of these cinematic conjectures, fans were able to figure out certain connections
long before they were ultimately confirmed by those in the know.
And as always … beware the spoilers!
The Logan prophecy
2013's The Wolverine might've seemed like just another installment of Logan's long history
on the big screen.
But as one fan on Twitter noticed, the film's clairvoyant character Yukio predicted Logan's
ultimate fate.
"I saw you die.
I see you on your back, there's blood everywhere, and you're holding your own heart in your
hand."
At the end of Logan, of course, that's almost exactly what happened.
A few years later, the character died in the movie Logan, while lying on his back and covered
in blood, as was foretold.
And while he wasn't holding his literal heart in his hand, he was clasping the hand of his
cloned "daughter" Laura a.k.a. X-23.
The connection was not a coincidence.
Director James Mangold later praised the person who first drew the connection between the
scenes and thus confirmed it was his intention all along.
"I would agree with your observations.
Cars takeover
While most people wouldn't think too deeply about a Pixar movie starring talking automobiles,
some adults — and maybe even some kids — left screenings of Cars with a disturbing thought:
where are the humans?
After all, it's not like humans never inhabited the world of Cars.
Proof of human existence is littered throughout the entire movie, from door handles to road
signs and more.
So, what exactly happened to us?
One fan theory proposed that the cars themselves eliminated humans.
And as it turns out, that's actually what happened.
According to Jay Ward, the Creative Director of the Cars universe, the anthropomorphic
autos simply didn't need the dead weight.
He said, "Imagine in the near-future when the cars keep getting smarter and smarter
and after one day they just go, 'Why do we need human beings anymore?
They're just slowing us down.
It's just extra weight, let's get rid of them.'
But the car takes on the personality of the last person who drove it…
There you go."
Who knew a global robot domination story could be so kid-friendly?
The Frozen-Tarzan connection
When Frozen co-directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck took to Reddit for an Ask Us Anything,
they blew everyone's minds when they revealed that, despite the film 's opening montage,
Anna and Elsa's parents didn't actually die at sea.
Instead, Buck stated the protagonists' parents "got washed up on a shore in a jungle island.
The queen gave birth to a baby boy.
They build a treehouse.
They get eaten by a leopard…"
That sounded a lot like what some fans had theorized about the backstory of the orphaned
Tarzan and how he might actually be the long lost brother of Anna and Elsa.
Buck later confirmed to MTV that fans were right on the money with their origin theory
— at least when it comes to how the story plays out in his head.
He explained: "Of course Anna and Elsa's parents didn't die.'
Yes, there was a shipwreck, but they were at sea a little bit longer than we think they
were because the mother was pregnant, and she gave birth on the boat, to a little boy.
They get shipwrecked, and somehow they really washed way far away from the Scandinavian
waters, and they end up in the jungle.
They end up building a treehouse and a leopard kills them, so their baby boy is raised by
gorillas.
So in my little head, Anna and Elsa's brother is Tarzan."
It's too bad Tarzan didn't inherit his sister's gift for whipping up ice sculptures to help
his jungle pals beat the heat.
But at least the director didn't come out and tell fans to let it go and stick to the
elephant's wild theory.
"You know I've been thinking lately that maybe Tarzan could be some subspecies of elephant."
The Genie peddler
Another Disney animation theory that's gotten the official thumbs up is that the Genie from
Aladdin appeared in the film long before the street rat ever rubbed that magic lamp.
Fans noticed the peculiar behaviors of the peddler who introduced the movie and figured
out that he and the Genie were the same guy, now free from the confines of the lamp.
"Do not be fooled by its commonplace appearance.
Like so many things, it's not what's outside, but what's inside that counts."
Director Ron Clements later admitted the theory was true and said, "That was the whole intention,
originally."
We even had that at the end of the movie, where he would reveal himself to be the Genie
… and of course Robin [Williams] did the voice of the peddler.
Just through story changes and some editing, we lost the reveal at the end.
So, that's an urban legend that actually is true."
"Look at me from the side.
Do I look different to you?"
Spider-Man's true MCU debut
There's been a long-running theory amongst fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that
Peter Parker showed up even earlier than Captain America: Civil War.
As the story goes, the little kid who dressed like Iron Man and mean mugged a robot at the
Stark Expo in Iron Man 2 is actually a young Peter Parker.
Iron Man 2 was released in 2010, after all, and everyone's favorite neighborhood web slinger
was still in his mid-teens in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Furthermore, the aforementioned Stark Expo takes place in Parker's hometown of Queens.
Tom Holland himself has now confirmed this idea as MCU official.
"Badass."
The actor who plays Spidey told Huffington Post, "It is Peter Parker … I can confirm
that as of today.
I literally had a conversation with Kevin Feige only 20 minutes ago.
Maybe I've just done a big, old spoiler, but it's out there now.
It's cool.
I like the idea that Peter Parker has been in the universe since the beginning."
"Hi guys!
Wait a minute, you guys aren't the real Avengers.
I can tell.
Hulk gives it away."
Stan Lee is a Watcher
Anyone who regularly watches Marvel movies is undoubtedly accustomed to the regular Stan
Lee cameos.
The comic book legend has made an appearance in almost every Marvel movie ever made.
"Look at Mr. Smiles over here.
Where's your wife old man?"
Lee's cameos have always been written off as merely nods to Marvel's main man, but some
fans suspected he might be one of The Watchers — a race of aliens who observe and compile
information on everything the universe has to offer, while refraining from interference.
Lee himself denied the theory at first.
Though I'll admit I'm a wonderful human being."
But Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 director James Gunn decided to have a little fun and
make the theory legit.
In the 2017 film, Gunn added a post-credit scene in which Lee regales The Watchers with
stories of his adventures.
The director then told Radio Times, "There's a lot of cool stuff that the fans come up
with.
A lot of stuff I don't agree with...
But I find the idea that Stan Lee is a Watcher, or that he works for the Watchers, is just
a fun little nod to the fans."
Thanks to those fan suggestions, Stan Lee's stellar role in the MCU is now official.
"Y'know, I guess one person can make a difference.
Nuff said."
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