Night #102 - Rumor Has It....

There's a lot of plot speculation out there concerning Night at the Museum 3, mostly because the plot synopsis hasn't been released yet, that fact has been made explicitly clear multiple times, and fans are curious to the point of rabidness by nature. However, amid all the theories, I've found one that has caught my attention and won't let go. It can be found here, and goes like this:

• Robert, Cecil's son, may have let loose Sir Lancelot to keep Larry busy, when he finds a great weapon.

This is one of those where I can't help but wonder all the particulars to: How did it get to this point? Will Lancelot find out he was being manipulated and switch sides? What weapon are we talking about here? Egyptian? And speaking of, where do the Egyptian characters come into play? Are they the weapon's guardians aside from being related to Ahkmenrah in some fashion? In a sense it reminds me of The Mummy Returns: tease a bad guy as the main one (really he's a secondary) while the real Big Bad goes to work. As you may recall, I was at first very disturbed by Lancelot being a bad guy in this movie, especially it's Big Bad. It implies so many things about the Arthur mythos which, quite frankly, feel out of place in a franchise whose whole premise is centered on ancient Egyptian magic. I had hoped he was insane or ineffective, but this theory would work out so well, too. It accounts for a lot of the characters who aren't being hyped up nearly so much as Lancelot (a la the Scorpion King), and it feels a lot more like it fits within the franchise as a whole, rather than just having random Arthurian characters appear out of nowhere for no good reason.

It also takes into account the revenge concept which (at the very least) popped into my mind as soon as I saw that there would be a Robert Fredericks in the movie to begin with. I sat and pondered the possible relationship between these two for perhaps a lot longer than I needed to, because considering the ages of the actors concerned, father/son is the most likely, and also something I almost recognized on sight. Having a son who wants to avenge wrongs done to his father makes a great deal of sense, at least in the world of drama (and some slightly outdated value systems which are still perpetuated to this day (I say that because in today's world, the "real world", nobody has time for elaborate revenge schemes, and it's more likely to be a wasted effort than not)). And that's if it even is a revenge scheme. Robert Fredericks, for all we know, probably has more up his sleeve than we know right now. What if he's not even a bad guy, but merely doing this to test Larry's skill to recruit him into some ancient secret society of Night Guards dating back to ancient Egypt (a la Now You See Me but without stage magicians)? That would actually mean a fascinating turn for the franchise, with the chance to explore the mythology a lot more closely and thoroughly.

This is one of those theories that hints at a lot more, and a lot more interesting, bits and pieces than many others, and it can go in more than one possible direction. Personally, if either of the above situations I've discussed are the way NATM 3 goes, I've got a very good feeling I'm going to enjoy it come opening night, when my butt's in that theater chair.

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": A break from all the seriousness with one of the most funny (and famous) scenes from BOTS

Countdown: 271 Days to NATM 3