J.J. Abrams sure knows how to use the internet to build buzz around a project, and whatever project he's teasing with Monday's viral video, "Stranger," has everybody talking — and scratching their heads.
Is it a new movie? A TV show? A video game? Is it related to "Star Wars" or "Star Trek"? Did Abrams and his production company, Bad Robot, secretly decide to produce a "Deadpool" movie for Marvel and 20th Century Fox? No, probably not, but that's not stopping viewers from reaching any and all conclusions possible from such a short — and cryptic — tease.
See video: Shocker: J.J. Abrams' New 'Stranger' Teaser Is Maddeningly Cryptic
With comments disabled on the YouTube video, TheWrap dug through the dumping grounds a.ka. comment boards in order to discover the various theories readers are speculating about. Some of them are plausible, some of them are hilarious, some of them are severely misinformed, and one — just one — might actually makes sense.
Let's start with…
THE OBVIOUS & OBVIOUSLY NOT TRUE:
"It's a trailer for the Deadpool movie coming out. Look at the image of the guys face compared with Deadpool from 'X-men Origins.'"
— NUTELLAonmySAMMY (Reddit)
"'The Crow' maybe? Is Bad Robot producing the reboot?"
— ShivaBowlShuffle (Reddit)
*Note: No, he's not.
"This is going to be the loosest adaptation of Albert Camus ever."
— fencerman (Reddit)
*Note: Camus is the Nobel Prize-winning author of 1942 novel "The Stranger." You may have read it in high school.
THE PLAUSIBLE:
"Apparently Bad Robot is producing an un-filmed 'Twilight Zone' script. Could be that!"
— awpls (Reddit)
"Facts: Bad Robot is in a partnership with Valve. It's Gamescom this week. Valve are releasing a trailer soon.
First look at Valve's collaboration with Bad Robot this week."
— The_Iceman2288 (Reddit)
"Soon He Will Know
Soon Will Know
Soon Will
S W
Its 'Star Wars.' Its a 'Star Wars' trailer.
— PertinentPanda (Reddit)
"'Star Wars'; at the end the screen reads; 'Soon He Will Know' the words then start to fade off screen in the order; 'Know, He Will Soon' Sounds like a Yoda line."
— Crazyscots (IGN)
THE TECHNICAL:
"'Soon He Will Know'
Converted to binary has 69 1's. S W. S is the 19th letter and W the 23rd of the English Alphabet. 19 + 23 = 42. 69 – 42 = 27. 27 is 33. Perfect 3. HL3 Confirmed. Thanks Bad Robot.
– BlazzedTroll (Reddit)
*Note: We don't actually care enough to verify this calculation.
THE FUNNIEST:
"This is it. The gritty sequel to Good Will Hunting we've all been waiting for.
Soon Will."
— anactofsean (Reddit)
"It's obviously a Hocus Pocus sequel with Billy Butcherson making a comeback."
— AlexEmway (Reddit)
*Note: Butcherson, played by Doug Jones, was the loveable zombie who helped teenagers Max, Dani, and Allison end three Salem witches' reign of terror on Halloween night in 1993.
"If I had to guess?An extremely contrived story in which there's some ever-looming mystery that is never actually solved in any plain manner, slowly burning out the audience as they realize they're being led on and that the show is merely a mechanism that keeps users coming back to watch it, but for no real purpose."
— FortyFs (Reddit)
THE MOST LIKELY:
"The font in the first picture (below the article) is the same as the 'Soon he will know' in the clip. And the title of the book is "S." and the title of the clip is Stranger……"
— evanjmay (IGN)
*Note: Ding! Ding! Ding! We may have a winner. This online commentor is making reference to a May Huffington Post article about Abrams' upcoming book "S.," co-writtten with author Doug Dorst, which was announced in 2011. The mystery novel is being released by publisher Little, Brown on Oct. 29
Here's the synopsis:
"At the core of this multilayered literary puzzle of love and adventure is a book of mysterious provenance. In the margins, another tale unfolds-through the hand-scribbled notes, questions, and confrontations of two readers. Between the pages, online, and in the real world, you’ll find evidence of their interaction, ephemera that bring this tale vividly to life."
Based on an a promotional image for the book, Evanjmay's comment about the similar font appears to be spot on:
