6 Theories That Will Transform The Way You See Popular Movies

You've watched these movies a hundred times. But have you really seen them?

Theory #1: Haley Joel Osment's Character in The Sixth Sense Can See Dead People

Buena Vista Pictures / Via The Sixth Sense

Even if you haven't seen The Sixth Sense, you know the film's big shocker: Bruce Willis was dead the whole time. If this is still somehow a spoiler for you, sorry, but you had 16 years.

But if Bruce Willis is dead the entire time, then how are he and Haley Joel Osment able to have long conversations as patient and therapist? Unless — Haley Joel Osment's character can see dead people.

Think About It: From the ghost of the little girl directing him to the videotaped evidence of her murder, to the cyclist at the crash site, to Bruce Willis' character himself — how would Haley Joel Osment's character be able to interact with any of them as he does if he couldn't see (and probably even speak to) ghosts? Rewatch The Sixth Sense with this theory in mind; it changes the entire film.

Theory #2: The Terminators in Terminator 2 Are Actually From the Future

Tri-Star Pictures / Via Terminator 2

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is arguably the greatest action movie of all time. But if you step back from the nonstop action a little and consider the plot, there might be more going on below the surface. Consider — wouldn't it explain everything that's going on if BOTH the Terminators were actually from the future?

Think About It: The T-800 model robot played by Arnold Schwarzenegger is protecting John Connor and trying to prevent Judgment Day. The T-1000 played by Robert Patrick is hunting John Connor and hoping to cause Judgment Day. There's only one weird problem: Judgment Day hasn't even happened yet.

How could the robots have knowledge of events that haven't happened, not to mention fully functional cybernetic bodies and artificial intelligences? If you watch the movie with this theory is mind, it actually explains a lot.

Theory #3: Darth Vader Is Princess Leia's Father

Lucasfilms / Via Star Wars

Everyone remember's the scene in The Empire Strikes Back when Darth Vader memorably says, verbatim, "Luke, I am your father" (direct quote). It explains why Vader has been so reluctant to kill Luke, asking him to rule at his side instead. But there's one other character conspicuously absent from that confession — why hasn't Darth Vader killed Princess Leia?

We know what you're thinking: Darth Vader is the bad guy. He blew up Princess Leia's entire planet! But just spared Leia for some reason? He had plenty of opportunities to kill her in captivity, unless...Darth Vader is also Princess Leia's Father.

Think About It: Even though Leia kisses Luke for luck in the first movie, the two never really seem to have any romantic chemistry and Leia almost immediately takes a reluctant shine to bad boy Han Solo. In Return of the Jedi, Luke himself tells Leia that they're brother and sister — sister to the same guy whose father is Darth Vader.

Theory #4: This Is Spinal Tap Is Actually a Scripted Comedy

Embassy Pictures / Via This Is Spinal Tap

Think About It: Nobody could be that stupid. We hope.

Theory #5: The Toys in Toy Story Are Actually Alive

Disney / Via Toy Story 3

What?

No, seriously.

Even though we, in reality, know toys to be inanimate objects, only "alive" in the sense that they are imbued with meaning by the children who develop emotional attachments to them, what if the toys in the Toy Story films were literally alive?

Think About It: Through the course of three films (and several animated theatrical shorts), the limp ragdoll cowboy Woody and his fellow playthings cavort around their owner's bedroom, autonomously leave the house without being escorted by a human, become lost in various situations and combinations, and then find their way back into the arms of their loving owners.

Blink and you'll miss it, but in Toy Story 1, die-hard fans believe they can pinpoint the exact moment when Woody directly speaks to a child. Could an ordinary toy do that?

Theory #6: Forrest Gump Is the Kid From the Beginning of the Movie

Paramount Pictures / Via Forrest Gump

Ask anyone on the street "Who played Forrest Gump?" They wouldn't even hesitate: "Tom Hanks." But was he the only actor in that movie to play Forrest Gump? Just who was that little boy in the leg braces at the beginning?

Hear us out: A younger version of Forrest Gump.

Think About It: Let's count off the similarities — same haircut, same speech pattern, same name. Both of their mothers are played by Sally Field (although they try to disguise this fact with age makeup in the later scenes). You might be asking, what about the leg braces?

If you go back and rewatch the movie, you might notice a scene where the boy runs so quickly his leg braces triumphantly break off. You know who else has a triumphant run later in the movie? That's right — Forrest Gump. Or should we say adult Forrest Gump?

Call us crazy, but we think this is what the filmmakers intended all along, and relentlessly picking over every detail makes watching our favorite movies a lot more fun and satisfying.

What's your favorite theory about what's really happening in a movie or TV show? Let us know in the comments below.