Granted I hate fan theories (they’re always literal and rely on pattern recognition), but I wouldn’t dunk on them with such an ungenerous misinterpretation as Barsanti has.

The most prominent example (is it the best? I dunno) I can think of is Wizard of Oz, and I think that works because the story takes place in a fantasy world. She’s very suddenly thrust into a new environment and once she leaves, she awakens right where she started; it leaves us on a note of ambiguity which only…

It literally wasn’t. It’s amazing how people still get the ending of Lost wrong. 

I’m still 100% sure that the plan for LOST was that they were dead the whole time from the very beginning but they underestimated how quick the internet would spreads such things in the early 2000s and spent years trying to say “No it’s not!” only to basically end it with basically that idea with a coat on. 

Don’t forget the constant “these properties take place in the same universe” theories. Usually because they’re by the same creators and those creators include easter eggs alluding to their other work. Instead of just treating it as a fun thing, it has to be some grand connection that will never come to fruition.

Because entertainment journalism is and always has been extremely dumb.

That’s basically what Marti Noxon said about the Buffy episode where she’s in a psych ward, that it would contradict all the show’s positive messages.

It’s a stupid theory, but also, why are reporters asking about it? The Duffer Brothers wouldn’t give away their ending even if it were true. Why is a dumb fan theory, possibly not even seriously considered by the people who put it out there, worth talking about to the creators? Just because something is on the…

I always ask the question of this type of fan theory: what would it add to the story? What would be the significance of it being a dream? For example, I remember reading somewhere that some people thought that Phoebe in ‘Friends’ was daydreaming about being friends with five other people she saw through a coffee shop…

Remember when ABC execs freaked out at the Lost episode which hinted that the whole thing was just Hurley hallucinating in a nuthouse? Even knowing how bad the actual ending was, I still get a huge laugh that apparently these guys had so little faith in Cuse and Lindeloff’s storytelling abilities that they’d A. intend…

They probably needed a conviction to trigger whatever behavior clause was in his contract to avoid a massive payout to cancel the contract. While it would have looked way better for them to drop him months ago, gotta pinch those pennies when your brand is in trouble.

I mean, we all did that with Rhodey, didn’t we? Worked like a charm. 

Best approach: Recast Kang, and simply don’t comment on the fact that he looks different. The characters don’t need to acknowledge it. It’s the same character played by a different actor, it’s happened before, it doesn’t need in-world explanations.

Another factor to consider for comparison’s sake is that Wakanda Forever had premiered on essentially the exact same weekend one year before The Marvels. Both are sequels to films that opened around comparable times (Black Panther in February; Captain Marvel in March) and grossed over $150 million in their opening…

It’s pretty simple. Because The Marvels is a failure on the level of what theatrical Marvel movies are supposed to be. And is troubling from the point of view of the health of their entire market segment.

They’ve been heading out for like 60 years.

Wonka also pulled in its dollars despite the fact movie musicals are on the outs nowadays

Like you said, it’s the budget. Wonka will be a success in theaters alone if they make it to $250 million world-wide - and it’s nearly two-thirds of the way there.

Yikes, does something this self-evident really need to be explained to people? If so, let me add that Wonka has already made $150 mil globally, and is on pace to make more globally than The Marvels by, likely, a hefty amount. It will be more successful irrespective of budgets.

The question is why are KotFM and Napoleon considered successes versus the Marvels. Similar budgets et al.