James Franco returned to social media on June 3 after largely disappearing since 2018, launching a TikTok account called jamesfranco2319 and immediately behaving in a way that generated either genuine concern or genuine intrigue depending on the viewer.
He whispered about "some serious s--t" happening. He claimed his account was hacked twice by people trying to silence him.
He wore a T-shirt with a pause button taped to it. He wrote down his username on paper to prove he was not AI. He teased a reveal date: 7/13. July 13.
Monday arrived. Franco posted. The footage is grainy, black-and-white, shot from a laptop screen, an alien-like figure roaming through bushes, peeking in windows, emerging from a garage.
It looks exactly like what you would produce if you wanted footage to look like alien footage without spending any money.
"God damnit James Franco, you made us wait for this?" one commenter wrote. "Clearly fake but I'll say it for the last time, I'm excited for whatever movie this is promoting," wrote another.
The movie theory has been the dominant explanation from the beginning. Franco is starring in Love Meets in the Sunshine, an upcoming road trip comedy directed by Christian Guiton, who has posted his own TikTok videos saying he has nothing to do with the alien saga, which is precisely what someone would say if they did.
The three TikTok accounts Franco is following are his own account, Guiton's and the film's account. Additional footage beyond Monday's reveal is available only to paying subscribers on his TikTok, which is where the stunt goes from entertainment to commerce.
Nobody knows whether this is a marketing campaign, a film promotion, performance art, or something else. Franco is 48 years old. He says he saw something.