Which movie from 2001 were the Waynes watching before they were gunned down in Gotham City? That’s the new question many fans ofThe Batmanhave been thinking about, with the film’s present-day timeline suggesting that Thomas and Martha Wayne died sometime in 2001. One particularly amusing meme imagines the Wayne family at a screening of the comedy sequelJay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Even the film’s director,Kevin Smith, couldn’t help but share the hilarious image, which presents a rather interesting fan theory.
“Was Jay and Silent Bob the last happy memoryThe Batmanever had? I didn’t make this giggle-inducer, but I love it,” Smith says, crediting the meme’s creator, Robert Gabel Jr.
Starring Smith alongside Jason Mewes as the titular duo,Jay and Silent Bob Strike Backis the fifth View Askewniverse movie following films like Clerks and Mallrats. It follows the titular stoners on their journey to Hollywood once they learn that a movie is being made using their likenesses. The comedy is filled with celebrity cameos as well, from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to Will Ferrell, George Carlin, Carrie Fisher, and Chris Rock. If this is the last movie Bruce watched before his life was changed forever, hopefully Jay and Silent Bob’s shenanigans brought the Wayne family some shared laughter in their final hours together.
Related:Why The Batman May Be the Most Batman Movie Yet
Some Fans Like to Believe the Wayne Family Was Watching Shrek That Night
If the Waynes weren’t watchingJay and Silent Bob Strike Back, what else could it have been? Another meme that’s been going viral posits that it was the hit animated comedyShrek. The film, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year with a return to theaters, satirizes fairy tales and follows a swamp ogre named Shrek (Mike Myers) who falls in love with a princess, Fiona (Cameron Diaz), on his quest to rescue her with the help of his best pal Donkey (Eddie Murphy). Widely regarded as one of the best animated movies of all time as the first-ever Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature, we can presume the Waynes enjoyed the film if that’s what they saw that day.
Unless this is addressed inThe Batman 2, and it seems improbable that it will be, we will never know for sure what the Waynes were watching before Thomas and Martha were killed in 2001. If notShrekorJay and Silent Bob Strike Back, some other possibilities areThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the King,Ocean’s Eleven,Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,The Mummy Returns,The Fast and the Furious,Spy Kids,Joe Dirt, andLara Croft: Tomb Raider,just to name a few. Take your pick, as, unfortunately, the end result for what happens to them afterward remains the same.
The Batmanis now playing in theaters everywhere. The film is directed by Matt Reeves and stars Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Jeffrey Wright, and Andy Serkis.
