The Focus breaks down five new TV shows, seasons, and movies that were seriously cruel and disappointing April Fools’ Day pranks.
Staying off social media is a measure some are willing to take on April Fools’ Day, but for others, the temptation to scroll is too tempting to resist. On the first day of April, lots of companies and people take to social media with the hopes of fooling followers with a prank, whether it’s a false confession of a fake food product, to name a couple of examples. In the realm of movies and TV, I saw a handful of April Fools’ posts, but these five were the ones sure to work best…
Mindhunter season 3
I was scrolling through Instagram on April 1st and came across a post from a page called The Cinegogue, which shares all things cinema.
Immediately recognizing the image from Mindhunter, the crime thriller series on Netflix, I saw the caption read: “Mindhunter season 3 has been announced.” For a split second, my heart soared, only to have it plummet down to earth and back into my body disappointed. For the smallest fraction of time, my brain wanted so badly to forget what day it was, and obviously, I wasn’t alone.
The page has 461k followers, so I wasn’t the only one who got my hopes up, the series having been axed after just two seasons. “I couldn’t resist,” the top comment from The Cinegogue reads, and people weren’t happy. “This is the only one that got me today,” a fan of the TV series reacted, “and it is cold as ice. Blocked.”
- APRIL FOOLS: 7 fake products brands need to make a reality
“Brutal,” another bluntly remarked. “Deeply unpleasant.” One admitted “My stomach just dropped. Don’t joke about that.”
Ranging from “awful” to “cold-blooded even for April Fools,” it got to lots of others—if you’ve seen how great the show is, you’ll know why.
Spider-Man 4 with Tobey Maguire
A prank that left Marvel fans devastated was from the entertainment website Screen Rant.
“Breaking!” the post read. “Tobey Maguire officially, totally confirms that a new Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie is happening and the first trailer will debut after the Spidey theatrical re-releases. Kirsten Dunst is returning but instead of ‘Go get ’em, tiger’ she’ll say ‘APRIL FOOLS!’
The last Spider movie from Tobey and Raimi together was 2007’s Spider-Man 3 and a fourth failed to materialize. However, since Tobey reprised the role in the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, there has been more outcry for the pair to reunite than ever. “You can’t joke with this,” a fan reacted, and the Hawkeye ‘Don’t give me hope’ meme sums it up pretty well.
Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve movie
Directors Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer) and Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two) collaborating on a movie together… it sounds too good to be true right? Of course it does because it’s not going to happen.
I encountered a post on Instagram from the movie page Goosebumps Cinema that had an image of the two filmmakers together with “BREAKING: Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve will reportedly direct a film together in 2025, with Martin Scorsese set to produce.”
Again, for a split second, you forget what day it is. This one didn’t get me like the Mindhunter prank did, but still. Once you read the rest of the caption it’s impossible to have taken it seriously.
“The film is titled ‘Space Cows: The Galactic Hoedown’, the post went on. “It follows the story of cowboys who stumble upon a planet of sentient cows, triggering unforeseen chaos in both realms.” With Al Pacino and Taylor Swift said to star, I’d have actually loved to see this fever dream nightmare of a film.
The Guest II
For those unfamiliar, The Guest is a 2014 thriller movie from director Adam Wingard (You’re Next) that stars Dan Stevens as a mysterious man who begins integrating himself into the life of a grieving family.
Playing out like a modern-day The Terminator, it’s a recent cult classic that has had fans clamoring for a sequel.
“The Guest II will finally start production next week,” Dan announced on his Instagram. Sadly, we’ve been fooled and nobody else has shared such glorious news. But please… can’t we make this one happen?
Blair Witch vs Alien
Plenty of horror fans are suckers for a surreal vs movie, and since the days of Alien Vs Predator and Freddy Vs Jason, we’ve seen some bizarre ones.
They can be a great guilty pleasure, and that’s exactly why I had a good laugh when I came across one called Alien Vs Blair Witch in a Facebook group I’m in for The Blair Witch Project, the iconic found-footage movie that terrified audiences worldwide in 1999.
“Chris Pratt and Allison Williams are rumored to be involved in the much anticipated Uwe Boll directed film,” the hilarious caption reads, with a poster depicting a remodeled Alien from Ridley Scott’s original 1979 sci-fi classic, deep in the misty woods.
Of all the potential pairings for an outrageous ‘Vs movie, this would be quite something.
- APRIL FOOLS: McDonald’s Baphomet Burger
