The October 19 Louvre Museum robbery — where four masked intruders escaped with eight historic jewels worth several millions — could be a promotional stunt for the upcoming film Now You See Me, Now You Don’t, speculate internet users in a bizarre conspiracy theory doing the rounds online.
The film, a heist thriller that follows illusionist thieves known as the Four Horsemen, is slated to hit theatres on November 14.
According to media reports, the robbers targeted the opulent Galerie d’Apollon (Apollo Gallery) — a grand hall dedicated to France’s crown jewels and artifacts from the Napoleonic era, situated just a short distance from where the Mona Lisa is displayed — during the Paris museum heist.
Speculation about a connection between the film and the heist gained traction after mysterious posters inviting the public to a live magic show by actor Jesse Eisenberg at Tompkins Square Park appeared across New York City.
“I just saw someone saying that the Louvre was robbed as part of the Now You See Me movie promo and I laughed but I remembered that Woody Harrelson is in Paris and now I’m suspicious,” an X user wrote.
What further consolidated fan theory was the official X page of the film resharing one of the fan tweets and saying, “Shhhh mind your business.”
“As much as I love Now You See Me, I would be so sad if the Louvre heist was just a PR stunt AHAHAHAHAHAHA LIKE STEALING IS BAD BUT I WAS SO IMPRESSED AND AMAZED HEISTS STILL EXIST… It would be funn tho if the heist is real and nysm plays into it in the promo,” another fan shared.
“If they staged robbing the Louvre to promote the new Now You See Me movie, I’ll eat my shoe,” posted another netizen.
An internet user shared, “People genuinely believe that the heist at the Louvre is marketing for now you see me. Yes and the Pope dying was marketing for conclave you dumb**s.”
The French authorities are yet to officially comment on the speculation.