The murder of Charlie Kirk remains one of the most emotionally charged news stories in recent memory.
And as politicians, journalists, and social media users continue to try and make sense of the tragedy, some bizarre theories have spread with alarming speed.
The latest speculation involves some surprising connections between Kirk’s death and a mostly forgotten 1998 thriller starring Nicolas Cage.
Obscure Nicolas Cage film becomes trending topic thanks to Kirk conspiracy theorists
Set during a single night, Snake Eyes sees Cage playing a police detective who attends a Las Vegas boxing match featuring a heavyweight champion named Lincoln Tyler.
The main storyline involves the assassination of a defense secretary named Charles Kirkland, who is shot in the neck.
The man who was arrested for Kirk’s murder is named Tyler Robinson, and much is being made of the similarities between the names of the Snake Eyes character and the real-life tragedy that unfolded on September 10.
The film has also become the source of a number of easily disporovable rumors, including the claim that it also takes place on September 10.
But on social media these days, intriguing lies spread much more rapidly than boring truths.
So along with the name coincidences, the misinformation regarding the date has been packaged into a number of bizarre arguments, with some users claiming Snake Eyes “predicted” Kirk’s murder, and others insisting that the film is evidence of some vast conspiracy.
X users flock to ‘Snake Eyes’ conspiracy theories
“The fight in the film occurs on SEPTEMBER 10th, the same exact day as Charlie Kirk’s death! The film was shot on location at the TRUMP Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. TRUMP was a close ally of KIRK,” one X user wrote this week, adding:
“The character, Gilbert Powell, in flim was literally based on Donald Trump, according to IMDB.”
“There are NO COINCIDENCES,” another account chimed in, adding:
“The 1998 Movie ‘Snake Eyes’ with actor Nicholas Cage, the politician CHARLES KIRKLAND is shot in the neck. In the movie, the shooting happens on SEPTEMBER 10th.
“Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck, in real life on September 10th. You just can’t make this stuff up.”
Well, apparently you can make this stuff up, as the film explicitly takes place on September 19.
Thankfully, many people pointed out in their replies that the connections described in those tweets (the connections that are factually accurate, anyway) are the very definition of coincidences.
We understand the desire to make sense of a seemingly senseless tragedy.
But for the most part, conspirators are not in the habit of planting clues in movies to expose crimes they intend to commit 27 years later.