There are some film theories that seem more believable than others, with the popular fan rumination that Willy Wonka was a mass murderer or that Kevin from Home Alone grew up to be a serial killer holding up under a microscope. But some require a little more imagination, for example, have you ever considered James Cameron’s epic blockbuster Titanic is actually a prequel to the director’s 1984 sci-fi The Terminator?

It’s certainly one of the more outlandish film theories to exist online, but the soldiers of internet cinephilia have put together a compelling case for its existence. One of the main bodies of evidence for the theory surrounds the many historical plot holes of the 1997 romance, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, with many lines of dialogue and movie events failing to align with the setting of the film in 1912. 

The basis of the theory starts with the thought that Jack Dawson (DiCaprio) is a time-traveller sent from the future where the evil Terminator company Skynet has taken over the world. Just like Kyle Reese went back in time in the 1984 sci-fi to protect Sarah Connor and the future birth of resistance leader John Connor, theorists suggest that DiCaprio’s Titanic character was tasked with the very same thing, except he was ordered to protect Rose Dewitt Bukater, a relative of the Connors. 

Sent to prevent her suicide and ensure her survival on the fateful ship, Jack is a hero of both Cameron’s Terminator and Titanic. 

The evidence behind this theory comes down to the many inconsistencies regarding Jack’s character and upbringing. For example, Jack recalls his joyful childhood at Lake Wissota, near Chippewa Falls, remembering ice-fishing, among other fruitful activities. The problem is Lake Wissota was a man-made body of water that wasn’t created until 1917, many years after the Titanic sank and the fictional character perished. 

This wasn’t the only time that Jack revealed his true future self either, with the character saying later in the movie that when he and Rose get back to America, they should go to the Santa Monica pier and ride the rollercoaster “until we throw up”. Keen film theorists soon poked holes in this chunk of dialogue, too, however, with the Santa Monica pier not creating a rollercoaster until 1916, four years after the events of Titanic. 

Want more evidence? Well, Jack’s clothing isn’t exactly fitting for the time, nor is his rucksack or his curious hairstyle. In fact, the more you look at him, the more you can appreciate that his wild fan theory may actually hold some legitimacy. 

But, if you really are a cynic, there are questions to be had about Rose’s own historical inaccuracies, making reference to a Sigmund Freud study that wasn’t written until 1920, as well as why a T-1000 wasn’t sent back in time by Skynet to kill Rose. If you want to go even deeper, you might even want to peel back how exactly the future resistance would have known the life of Rose would have been so important when, without Jack, she would have committed suicide. 

Still, the idea that Rose is a long-lost Connor is a highly-compelling theory that gives a little more eccentric excitement to Cameron’s epic romance tale. We like to think Skynet might have had something to do with the pesky production prank that saw much of the cast and crew spiked with PCP.