Updated June 23, 2017 3.3k votes 780 voters 56.7k views
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Vote up the most plausible theories that connect and overhaul Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End.
The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy might just be England's greatest export. Directed by Edgar Wright, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End each provide a note-perfect take on a specific genre (horror-comedy, action parody, and sci-fi romp). The films pack in countless jokes and references, thanks in part to quick-witted stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and their dense backstories have inspired a deluge of Cornetto Trilogy fan theories. Some Three Flavours trilogy fan theories draw a throughline for the series, while others simply focus on one film. Before you read any further, be warned: if you haven’t seen any of these films, then none of these Edgar Wright fan theories are going to make any sense. You'd better binge-watch the trilogy before reading these movie fan theories and formulating your own.
Edgar Wright’s stunning Cornetto Trilogy has so many amazing moments that it’s hard to determine which is the best. Do you prefer constant foreshadowing and spectacular payoffs? Do you wait to see what crazy edit is going to happen next? Or are you more of a fan of Nick Frost keeping it real? There are no wrong answers here. Go down the rabbit hole and discover all of the things that might be happening in the Cornetto Trilogy, then go round to the Winchester for a pint - you’ve earned it.
Photo: Working Title Pictures
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450 VOTES
The Cake And Ice Cream Was Dosed
Photo: Universal Pictures
Redditor capedconkerer believes there's a simple explanation for why the other members of the Sanford police force took all of the accidental deaths in their town at face value: they were drugged.
Throughout Hot Fuzz, the police are given cake and ice cream for a variety of reasons, and it's possible that all of the sweets were laced with something to keep the officers docile. Towards the end of the film, Inspector Butterman is so busy trying to stop Nicholas that he doesn't have time to drug the force, and that's why they're able to better mobilize against him and the rest of the secret group.
450 votes
2
324 VOTES
The World's End Gets Dark
Photo: Universal Pictures
The World's End is arguably the darkest film of the Cornetto Trilogy, but this short theory by Redditor psychodave123 makes even darker. In the film, Gary King, having just exited rehab, is planning on returning to his home town and completing a pub crawl called the Golden Mile that he failed to finish when he was a young man. The theory is that, if Gary hadn't been sidetracked and completed the Golden Mile, then he would have killed himself after downing his final drink.
324 votes
3
280 VOTES
There Was More Than One Swan In Hot Fuzz
Photo: Universal Pictures
If you've seen Hot Fuzz, then you know the heights of lunacy that Peter Ian Staker's missing swan drives Nicolas Angel to. Redditor CoccyxCracker has a question about that swan: what if there was another one? The theory is based on the hint dropped about there being multiple killers. A member of the Sanford secret circle asks, "No luck in catching them killers then?," a reference to when she asked about the swans earlier in the film and was corrected by Danny. Maybe there were two swans after all.
280 votes
4
178 VOTES
Gary King Might Have A Child
Photo: Universal Pictures
Fans of Edgar Wright will tell you he rarely has any wasted dialogue. By the time The World's End premiered, viewers knew that almost every line was a set up for something that would happen later in the movie. The only thing that never seemed to pay off was Gary discussing how he may have fathered a child with a woman named Karen Eggerton.
Redditor BackwardsMarathon believes that this is a foreshadowing for what Gary's quest post The World's End will be.
178 votes
5
286 VOTES
The Met Chief Inspector Was In On The Whole Thing
Photo: Hot Fuzz/Universal Pictures
In Hot Fuzz, the moment Nicolas finds out he's being sent to Sanford, he tries to argue his way up the chain until he's put in his place by the Met Chief Inspector. The boss says Nicholas is going away to stop him from making the rest of the force look bad - but what if that's not the case?
A Reddit user going by the name of TopKat_ believes the MCI either knew about the secret society and was trying to have Nicholas killed, or that he knew about the mysterious deaths in Sanford and felt like Nicholas could solve the mystery, but didn't want to give him all of the information up top.
286 votes
6
286 VOTES
Shaun And Ed Kill A Living Person
Photo: Universal Pictures
In one scene in Shaun of the Dead, Shaun and Ed are going to pick up Liz and run over someone. Redditor Flandangle is pretty sure that they killed a real person who only became a zombie after the vehicular homicide. Their theory hinges on both the news report that says "Once again: the bodies of the recently deceased are returning to life and attacking the living," and the fact that Philip and Barbara take very little time to turn into zombies themselves after their onscreen deaths.
