The very best films grow richer with each viewing, unfurling new depths of meaning each time. But what happens when viewers look to create their own meaning?
So-called fan theories have become a booming talking point in the age of the internet, with film-lovers often scrutinising their favourite movies for hints of some secret narrative or dark twist.
While many of the theories shared – for example, on Reddit’s “fan theories” forum – are far-fetched and thinly substantiated, every so often someone is able to put a spin on a film that gives you genuine pause for thought.
Sometimes they sound utterly ludicrous (Jar-Jar Binks being the devil in disguise?) but then when you hear the evidence, you can’t help but wonder.
Here are 21 of the most popular and interesting fan theories about famous movies.
The ‘Pixar Theory’
One of the most notorious fan theories in cinema, this spurious hypothesis seeks to situate all films produced by Pixar within the same canonical universe. There’s fodder enough to support this idea – characters are constantly cropping up in other films, in blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em Easter eggs – and, sure enough, in 2017 Pixar shared a video that seemed to confirm that this theory had legs. With each new release, however, the theory becomes a little bit more tenuous.
Star Wars – Jar Jar Binks is a Sith Lord
This notorious theory posits that Jar-Jar Binks – the buffoonish, amphibious alien that became a hate figure within the Star Wars fanbase following the release of The Phantom Menace – was, in fact, a skilled villain the whole time. There are a number of curiously convincing pieces of supporting evidence for this theory. His chaotic, fumbling movements that “shockingly” manage to defeat opponents in battle somewhat resemble the fighting style of Zui quan, or “drunken boxing”. He uses hand gestures when trying to convince people of things – a Jedi mind trick? And he ends up insinuating himself into a senatorial position, ultimately putting in place Palpatine’s takeover of the empire. Far-fetched? Meesa think not.
The ‘Tarantino theory’
Much like the Pixar theory, this argument revolves around the idea that every film made by Quentin Tarantino in fact takes place in one universe. There are tidbits that support this theory – Pulp Fiction’s Vincent Vega and Reservoir Dogs’s Vic Vega are brothers; Donnie Donowitz from Inglorious Basterds is father to Lee Donowitz in True Romance; all characters smoke the same brand of fictional cigarettes (Red Apple).
The theory is based on the idea that films such as Reservoir Dogs and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood take place in an alternate reality – one where Adolf Hitler was killed in a hail of bullets and fire at the end of Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino himself has partially confirmed the theory to be true, but stipulated that there are in fact not one but two shared universes his films occupy.
Guardians of the Galaxy – Everyone is swearing (except Peter Quill)
As shared on Reddit by u/freelanceastronaut, this theory explains why all the characters in Guardians of the Galaxy cuss and swear like they’re in a film for kids. In the movie, many of the alien characters are not in fact speaking English, but are having their language translated for Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and the audience via Quill’s universal translator.
Quill, however, was abducted from Earth when he was still a small child – meaning the kind of swear words that these rough-and-ready rogues are using simply wouldn’t be in his vocabulary.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Not a reward, but a punishment
Willy Wonka is a sicko. There’s no hiding this, of course – the man spends the majority of the film’s runtime doling out bespoke punishments to a gaggle of small children. At the end, he rewards the pure-hearted Charlie Bucket with inheritance of his magical chocolate factory.
What this theory, put forward by Reddit user u/MasterLawlz, posits, is that the ending is not a happy one at all. Rather, by bestowing the factory on little Charlie, Wonka is inflicting his worst punishment of all: a lifetime spent being a dysfunctional, vindictive recluse. The theory casts a pretty dark pall over what was already a prickly, sharp-edged kids’ fable.
Aladdin – One wish left
