A Synopsis of Speculation

This is, as promised, my lengthy speculation as to what the plot will entail. I have parts of this speckled throughout the blog, but I feel the need to gather them all here in one place, along with new bits which have come to light with some of the latest news on casting and the title.

The tablet is on the move to the British Museum, possibly as part of an exhibit on Ahkmenrah's father (possibly Ben Kingsley, his younger version has been cast and listed, see the post three nights ago) who has recently been unearthed. Please note that I'm not quite sure whether or not to trust this guy, as I have a) a headcanon where he's a shitbag and b) some reason to believe that blatantly broadcasting Lancelot as the movie's bad guy is a ploy by the creators to throw us off track (to which I say "Well done"). Anyway, Larry has to go with it to make sure nothing untoward happens/comes to light, which leads to questions that Dr. McPhee knows what's up when the sun goes down, but that's something I can't answer. So he travels to London with the tablet (and possibly Ahkmenrah, as well), and the British Museum happens to come to life during the gala celebrating the unearthing of Ahkmenrah's father (as yet unnamed, so you'll have to live with it).

He runs into a security guard played by Rebel Wilson, who, being night watch, most likely learns the secret. There are several important gala guests who must be protected from harm, in the most obvious form of Lancelot (God knows what he wants) and possibly Robert Fredericks, as well (son of Cecil, who is reprising his role along with his two cohorts, possibly paying his dear son a visit in London?). Jury's out on Fredericks Jr, but it's recommended to keep an eye on him. Meanwhile, Ahkmenrah's father awakes and has a few things to say about the tomb, the tablet, and maybe the Gate from BOTS, as well. This is where the flashback kicks in, which is probably why we needed Young Ahkmenrah's Father and all those Egyptian-esque extras during filming. If he's worth a damn, Ahkmenrah's father will ask about the well-being of his son first, before getting into any details. If he's not, then this is the proof in the pudding, or Spotted Dick, as the case may be. (Pro-Tip: Spotted Dick is, in fact, a pudding.)

And speaking of Spotted Dick, these people, these writers and this director and his partner Ben Stiller, are missing a huge opportunity if they don't include a Spotted Dick joke. Even the name of it sounds funny, especially to a primarily American audience.

In any event, mayhem ensues because Lancelot is causing trouble (ostensibly); a few others might be behind the scenes; if I know the old guards, they'll want their tablet/revenge on Larry for defeating them; and Larry and Wilson's character will be at their wits' end trying to contain the chaos lest the Masquerade break. However, as this is all taking place during a huge black-tie event (or whatever the classification is in the UK), then there is always the chance that the Masquerade will break anyway, or this will be the movie to decide that "It's time"/"The world is ready"/some other excuse/reason which I have reason to suspect is due to the judgement of the Egyptian characters. After all, they know the tablet best, even if they are a bit green in the ways of the modern world (if the shot of Ahkmenrah dashing through the streets of New York with a look of panic/fear/anxiety on his face is anything to go by). Which could go badly or it could go quite well. Given this is a family film, it will probably be on the more idealistic side, showing the populace as a whole as generally accepting of the notion of a magical item bringing exhibits to life. But would we have a NATM 4 without the possibility of the Museum of Natural History at New York being swarmed with reporters, Giorgio Tsoukalos, G.T.'s hair, more reporters, conspiracy mongers, the gov't, and damn near everyone else in life who wants a piece of this? Or maybe that's touched on in the epilogue.

In any event, that's my entire sleep-deprived (It's ten thirty at night and I'm running on empty) speculation into the plot of NATM 3 all in one place for me to reference later, at my convenience and necessity, should this subject ever come up again.

And for some reason I haven't gotten used to the SOTT acronym yet, but give it time.

Night #168

Coutndown: 205 Days to NATM 3

Night #167

Countdown: 206 Days to NATM 3

News Fail

And by this I mean, the guy who wrote this article is an idiot. The gist of this Bleeding Cool sound byte is basically speculation on the idea of any famous tombs in Britain whose secrets will be revealed. This fails to take into consideration the following facts: there are numerous new Egyptian characters, several named and any number of extras; the Egyptians were quite famous for building tombs; and this is a film series which revolves around an ancient Egyptian tablet bringing everything to life. And this author is convinced that it's a British tomb which will be explored. (I gotta give the guy a little credit, though; he makes the connection between Lancelot and the non-existent/impossible-to-find/possibly-fictional tomb of King Arthur. However, with the heavy focus on Egyptian characters in the casting calls there has to be more to it than that. Maybe Lancelot wants something Egyptian (say, the tablet) for some nefarious purpose. I'll weave together a detailed plot speculation in the near future.)

And then there's this 411mania article, which speculates, of all places, Cairo (correct location, but...), which completely disregards the fact that this entire film is set in London, at a gala (possibly for the latest Egyptian finds, but I'll get to that in the aforementioned lengthy and detailed speculation post). So far as I can tell, there's absolutely no plans to visit Cairo in this movie. Facts, people. Learn them. Get them straight.

Night #166

Countdown: 207 Days to NATM 3

Night #165

Countdown: 208 Days to NATM 3

Night #164

Countdown: 209 Days to NATM 3

Cast Listings

So I've been perusing the SOTT cast listings from IMDB, something I haven't done in quite a while, and I happened upon this:

Michael Patrick Denis

...

Young Ahkmenrah's Father

Yes. Young Ahkmenrah's Father. Young Ahkmenrah's Father.

This is Secret of the Tomb. There's a guy playing a pharaoh (an old guy, so is he present Ahkmenrah's father? But I'll get there later). The three old guys are back. We're going back to the country where Ahkmenrah learned English. There are bad guys from English myth and possibly ancient Egypt and the present, real world (I'm still suspicious of Kingsley's character and Robert Fredericks). And now these people are telling me we're going to get flashbacks of Ahkmenrah's past? Is that what this is suggesting?

Okay, I have a lot to process, so let's go in order.

I've talked previously on this blog about whatever possibilities there are for the plot of SOTT, many times, and I've come to several conclusions over the years: Lancelot is a red herring bad guy; The new Egyptian characters, Shepseheret and Ben Kingsley's character, are deeply involved with the history of the tablet; We'll actually get some back story into this entire thing. And I still stand by all of these theories, the back story one more so now, considering we have a guy listed as Young Ahkmenrah's Father.

And just take a minute to let that sink in. I recall having written at some point that there's a chance that people will be leaping through Egyptian wall paintings and ending up back in time, and from the sounds of things, if that happens, then it's to the time of Ahkmenrah's father. Is there a kid Ahkmenrah? This certainly explains the need for all the Egyptian extras during filming. There are apparently Assyrians involved, so I take it this is either a time of conflict during which Ahkmenrah's father is killed or some sort of peace negotiation (admittedly my first thought, considering the poor kid involved in all this royal madness). Where the hell will Kahmunrah be? He came off as a central figure in all of the royal intrigue surrounding his family, if not the instigator of nearly all of it. Is that a surprise for us? Why are we not getting the full story? Why are these people doing this to us?

*deep breath*

Back to the present, further perusals of the listings of characters leads me to conclude that there is some kind of gala or other important event in or around the British Museum, and the magic has to be kept under wraps until the conflict is resolved. It occurs to me that this could be an official breaking of the masquerade, which may be what Ahkmenrah's father attempted thousands of years before, to potentially disastrous results. Will history repeat itself? Anyway, it could be a complete accident, if it ever happens, or it could be on purpose in order to stop Lancelot and/or the real bad guys of the entire movie. I still can't buy that Lancelot is really the big bad for this flick. He's too vain for that. There's absolutely no way, unless he's the one who wants to break the masquerade so he can take glory in people knowing who he is (with the potentially unintentional side effect of getting repeatedly slapped by women). That's the only way I can see it happening, and I have a very hard time buying that as a NATM movie plot. I therefore feel/suspect very strongly that Lancelot is a red herring bad guy.

That just leaves the question of the result of all the inevitable ensuing havoc. And the question of how the tablet gets to London in the first place, though this is relatively easy: very likely it's a result of a traveling exhibition/loan to the British Museum. Which is to say, the tablet and possibly Ahkmenrah are on their way to London, possibly for the gala.

And I have one final thought: we have Sir Ben Kingsley listed as Egyptian Pharaoh, and we have the aforementioned Young Ahkmenrah's Father. Are these two characters one and the same? Something to ponder.

Please refer to this for further information, and post your speculations/mind bombs/fangirlish squees in the comments below.

Night #163

Countdown: 210 Days to NATM 3.

Bringing the Museum to Life

Night #162

Countdown: 211 Days to NATM 3

Night #161

Countdown: 212 Days to NATM 3

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Countdown: 213 Days to NATM 3

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Countdown: 214 Days to NATM 3

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Night #157

Countdown: 216 Days to NATM 3

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Countdown: 218 Days to NATM 3

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Countdown: 219 Days to NATM 3

Night #153

Countdown: 220 Days to NATM 3

Night #152

Countdown: 221 Days to NATM 3

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Countdown: 222 Days to NATM 3

Night #150

Countdown: 223 Days to NATM 3

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Countdown: 224 Days to NATM 3

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Countdown: 225 Days to NATM 3

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Countdown: 226 Days to NATM 3

Night #146

Countdown: 227 Days to NATM 3

Night #145

Countdown: 228 Days to NATM 3

Night #144

Countdown: 229 Days to NATM 3

Secret of the Tomb

I'm not making this shit up. NATM 3 has a new subtitle, Secret of the Tomb (which means it gets a new acronym: SOTT). Click here, here, or read this (from Moviefone):

"Night at the Museum 3" has a new title and a new release date.

The latest installment in the "Night at the Museum" franchise is now called "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb," and is slated for release on December 19. The film had previously been scheduled to open on Christmas Day.

Ben Stiller returns as a hapless museum security guard, who coincidentally always seems to be working when objects at the museum come to life. The action for the third film in the series has been moved to the British Museum, in London.

The new subtitle indicates that much of the story will focus on Ben Kingsley's new character, who's described as an Egyptian pharaoh who's been brought to life by a magic tablet. Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, and Ricky Gervais are reprising their roles from the first two films; Rebel Wilson joins the ensemble as a night security guard at the museum.

Do you know what this means? We actually do get more Egypt this time around! I don't know about my fellow readers, but this makes me the happiest person on the planet right now!

Night #143

Countdown: 230 Days to NATM 3

Alright so I just discovered this on Tumblr

Night #142 - Notice

I'm making a few changes to the format. I'll still be running daily posts, but those will be a Countdown Counter, maintaining the track of days until the release of the much anticipated Night at the Museum 3. However, there will be no daily topics until further notice. It's too much of a drain on my time and mental resources at this period in my life. Therefore, while I will run daily countdowns, if and when I have topics to post about, I will post them. However, for the interim, you won't be seeing any more "Next on 'For the Love of Night at the Museum'".

Countdown: 231 Days to NATM 3.

Night #141 - Recommended For Your Viewing Pleasure

Or reading, as the case may be. Here are some of my personal recommendations for fan material so you don't have to spend time cycling through all the crap (I've posted some of these already, so I will redirect accordingly):

Big Brothers are Jerks

My Shipping Soapbox

My General Fanart Post

My Stamp-Specific Fanart Post

Please also refer to my series of fanvid posts: You've Got the Love, Tonight is the Right Night, Playing With the Big Boys Now, Brotherly Love (or not), THEME MUSIC!, Rock Out, and F.U.N. For an added bonus, there's also Kahmunrah VS The French Taunter

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": Another notice. Things are changing around here yet again, folks.

Countdown: 232 Days to NATM 3.

Night #140 - Yet More Crossover Fun

A piece which somehow fell through the cracks during National Treasure movie night, but one I'll be sure to address now: how do these two fit together? In all honesty, there's no evidence for any sort of connection except this: both movies take place in rational universes where extraordinary things occur often under the noses of everybody but the protagonists, antagonists, and few side characters which happen to be directly involved. It could, though, be very likely that National Treasure is a story taking place in the world of Night at the Museum. It could be a news story in that world and may have some influence over the museum characteristics of NATM, the only real way the NATM-verse would be directly impacted by the finding of the Templar Treasure. It could also be very likely that no one involved in the Templar Treasure story has any clue about the magical properties of a piece of gold in New York, nor would they care (why would they?). In this sense, the two essentially serve as masquerades in each other's worlds and could easily be very, very interrelated.

Either that or I'm seeing things, but I somehow really like to see these two franchises as having at least some tangential relationship with one another.

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": That part of the blog where I direct you to other fan-based entertainment in an effort to help you cut through all the crap out there on the internet.

Countdown: 233 Days to NATM 3.

Night #139 - Taking a Breather

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": A quick question I'm sure you've all been pondering ever since the National Treasure movie night: how are these two related? I assure you, that will be answered.

Countdown: 234 Days to NATM 3.

Night #138 - Extra Extra! Read all about it!

For some time now they've been looking for local extras in Kamloops, BC, Canada, men who look "Egyptian". That term by itself has caught my attention, and, being wired this way, here's what I think: either there are more than a few Egyptian exhibits at the museum in question, or we actually jump through a painting portal (this is canon, established by Battle of the Smithsonian) into ancient Egypt, and so we need "a cast of thousands". That sets me fired about the possibilities for this movie in exploring the tablet's origins and powers, and the world of Kahmunrah and Ahkmenrah, adding depth to the story of these two characters (the only strictly fictional characters with any back story to speak of) and possibly to the characters themselves.

This is, of course, on top of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Shepseheret, and, of course, the Brothers Egypt and the tablet which has kickstarted the entire plot in the first place and which needs desperately to be elaborated on. This promises a rich world with something we can use and work with and understand and synthesize. This promises a glimpse into the past which in turn has the promise of revealing more about the Brothers Egypt and the tablet. This is, in a word, beautiful.

For more information:

http://infotel.ca/newsitem/the-path-to-a-glitzy-movie-gig-begins-in-a-conference-room/it9617

Or refer to my other posts on the Brothers Egypt, the tablet, and prospective Egyptian characters: Back Story? What Back Story?, Egyptians On Deck, The Tablet, Nights 2 and 3, and others.

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": More posters and fanart!

Countdown: 235 Days to NATM 3