Jerry Bruckheimer has debunked a popular and enduring fan theory about Sean Connery’s 1996 film, The Rock. During a recent Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, the Top Gun: Maverick producer was asked by a fan if there had ever been in any thought in the making of The Rock that Connery’s character was really a disgraced and disavowed version of James Bond and while the idea has been one that fans have enjoyed and speculated about for years, according to Bruckheimer it was something that never even was considered.
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In The Rock, Connery plays a former SAS captain who, along with a team consisting of an FBI chemical weapons specialist (Nicolas Cage), and a Navy SEAL team, who is enlisted to break into Alcatraz where a rogue general and group of Marines are holding tourists hostage and threatening San Francisco unless the government pays $100 million over the deaths of Marines on clandestine missions denied by the Pentagon. Connery’s Captain Mason, it is revealed, is also an MI6 operative and had been held as a prisoner on Alcatraz after stealing a microfilm containing the U.S.’s most close guarded secrets.
In the years since the film’s release, the idea that Mason was really a disgraced version of James Bond — a character Connery famously brought to life on the big screen — has become something of a persistent head canon for many fans of The Rock, but Bruckheimer was pretty direct in his answer.
“It was never discussed or even thought about,” Bruckheimer wrote.
Of course, not all fans in the AMA believed him. One fan broke down what they felt were similarities that were just too notable to be anything but deliberate and called Bruckheimer’s answer “a likely story” while others questioned if the producer was being truthful or just trying to avoid a lawsuit. It’s pretty clear that not all fans are just going to accept Bruckheimer’s word.
But while The Rock fans may not be thrilled with Bruckheimer’s debunking of the popular fan theory, National Treasure fans are likely to be very excited for another of the producer’s answers during the AMA. Bruckheimer was also asked about reuniting with Cage in the future and Bruckheimer responded that he was actually working on a National Treasure script with Cage, potentially hinting that they’ll both be returning to the franchise — possibly for National Treasure 3 or even the upcoming television series, though nothing official has been announced.
“Absolutely. I love Nicolas,” Bruckheimer wrote, “he’s a brilliant actor and we are currently working on a script for National Treasure.”
Top Gun: Maverick is in theaters now.
What do you think about Bruckheimer’s response to The Rock fan theory? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
