10 Movie Fan Theories That Became Fact

It’s not often that fans are lucky enough to rewrite their own favourite franchises.

As popular as fan fiction has become in recent years, it’s not usually a launching point for creators to work from. After all, the last thing that a director or screenwriter wants is to be accused of stealing the fandom’s hard work for their iteration of a beloved property.

That said, some creators have a close relationship with their fans and know when it’s a good idea to take their concepts on board, and some directors are just opportunistic enough to say “sure, why not?” to a clever fan theory.

Even if, you know, they never actually intended to inspire the theory in the first place.

Whether it’s a misplaced extra changing the ending of one crime thriller or fan pressure changing the romantic pairings of not one, but two huge franchise’s characters, sometimes sufficiently clever fan theories can become canon when they impress the original creators enough to replace or complement their story.

So, this list is here to compile the numerous times that fan theories rose out of speculation and became canon, thanks to impressed creators.

Now this one may have come from fans, but it was helped along the way by a cast member in its journey from fan fiction to established series canon.

In the mega successful dystopia novel series The Hunger Games, the romantic chemistry between former villainess Effie Trinket and taciturn mentor Haymitch is entirely implied, and nothing ever comes of their closeness on paper.

However Effie’s actor Elizabeth Banks, who was herself a fan of the popular fan theory in question, pushed for their relationship to be made more explicit in the movies. Fans agreed as many felt the pairing was a missed opportunity in the original books, and Woody Harrelson’s chemistry with Banks was just another benefit for audiences hoping to see the two together onscreen.

As a result, the mega budget adaptations of this sci-fi series made the romantic relationship between Effie Trinket and Haymitch canon thanks to the superb chemistry between their actors, and the delight of fans worldwide was enough to get them through this otherwise grim, grey set of films.