BURBANK, CA–Rumors of all kinds have been swirling the deep about the upcoming film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is intended to be the final installment in the DCEU. Is the film still releasing? Is the footage lost? Is Amber Heard still in the movie? Is Jason Momoa still single? The film’s status seems as uncertain as the shifting sea.

With no trailer released merely three months before the movie’s debut, speculation suggested the film had been scrapped in one final whimper of the dying DCEU. Then, one source reported that WB had lost the film’s footage in their servers! This surprising development really turned the tides of the rumors.

Varying sources have attempted to offer explanations for the film’s allegedly lost footage. “Look, between you and me, we didn’t actually lose it,” said James Gunn, head of DC films, to Marvelous Movies reporters. “We just decided the film was too bad to release. But people complained when we did that with Batgirl, so I figured we’d just tell everyone it was lost instead.”

Infamous pirate Captain Jack Sparrow has also claimed responsibility for stealing the footage, as revenge against Atlantean queen Mera. “This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost got one over on Captain Jack Sparrow,” he told the press. “But I’m set on leaving the queen high and dry.”

“I hope they really have lost the footage, so we won’t actually have to watch the movie,” said movie fan and film critic David Milton Hyde. “And let’s hope they’re also careless enough to lose the footage for Gunn’s Superman reboot and Joker 2.”

Then, on Thursday, a trailer finally did release, to the surprise of many fans. So the story that the footage was lost no longer seemed to hold water. But is everything as it seems? “Yeah, the bits in the trailer were pretty much the only parts we didn’t lose,” director James Wan told Marvelous Movies. “In fact, that’s why we had to supplement those few moments with footage from the first film too. Do you think anyone could tell?”

“Honestly, it’s been five years, and the first film was forgettable enough,” Wan continued. “Maybe we could just re-release it and hope the fans don’t notice. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters in December. Or maybe it won’t. Who knows at this point?