Up to 2022, every April 1, Screen Rant indulged in April Fool’s shenanigans – and some of those jokes eventually became reality. The entertainment industry is a weird place, and getting weirder all the time. Five years ago, Amazon owning James Bond, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield joining the MCU, and Star Wars finding more success on Disney+ than in theaters felt too outlandish even for April Fool’s gags. And that’s without even mentioning the time movie theaters across the world closed for nigh on a year…

With reality very much stranger than fiction at this point, browsing the internet on April Fool’s Day requires more caution than ever, as even we at Screen Rant have played a trick or two over the years. You might remember such April 1 hits as “Mortal Kombat 2: Keanu Reeves In Talks To Play Johnny Cage,” “The Office Reboot: Michael Scott Movie Coming To NBC’s Streaming Service” and “Denis Villeneuve Directing Cloverfield 4 After Dune.” None of those examples came true, sadly (though the Johnny Cage one did correctly call Mortal Kombat’s stinger set-up for Cage), but a few of our other April Fool’s contributions certainly did.

Proving anything really can happen under the bright lights of Hollywood, here are the April Fool’s jokes we made in the spirit of the occasion… and then watched become reality soon after.

‘Full House’ Sequel Series in Development – Will You Watch? (2013)

Running from 1987 to 1995, Full House‘s Tanner family captured the hearts of American audiences with their wholesome sitcom stylings. As the early 2010s saw a wave of 1990s TV nostalgia – with the likes of Girl Meets World getting the green light – Screen Rant posted an April Fool’s joke in 2013 claiming ABC and Jeff Franklin (Full House creator) were teaming up for a modern day sequel series. In an unexpected plot twist, rumors of a real Full House sequel began circulating the following year… and not just on April 1. As momentum behind the reports grew, denials from cast and crew began looking increasingly papery, and D.J. Tanner herself (Candace Cameron Bure) even Tweeted a reference to the April Fool’s gag.

Finally, a little over 2 years after the original article, John Stamos confirmed Netflix was moving forward with Fuller House. The sequel would premiere in 2016 and run for four years (and 5 seasons) before cancellation beckoned. Aside from Mary-Kate and/or Ashley Olsen as Michelle Tanner, most of the original cast returned in some capacity, but no amount of April Fool’s foresight could’ve envisioned why Lori Loughlin would ultimately leave the show…

Sony Developing Plans for Spider-Man Cinematic Multiverse (2015)

By 2015, rival studios had taken notice of Marvel’s rampant MCU success. Spider-Man, meanwhile, was in limbo following the relative failure of Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, with Tom Holland just a twinkle in Kevin Feige’s eye at this point. On April Fool’s Day 2015, then, Screen Rant posted an article claiming a Spider-Man shared multiverse was in development at Sony. We had some fun mapping out the various parallel realities, with Tobey Maguire in one, Andrew Garfield another, and a wider web that even incorporated “Agent May: From Brooklyn With Love.”

Though our prediction for May’s new career path didn’t pan out, the Sony Spider-Man Universe is now officially a thing and, as predicted, includes past franchises as part of a wider multiverse. Sony’s own world includes the Venom movies, Morbius, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s upcoming Kraven, seemingly building toward a future Sinister Six effort. Then came the multiverse element, as Venom: Let There Be Carnage bridged Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock to the MCU, while Spider-Man: No Way Home placed Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men in their own corners of the multiverse, creating a franchise-hopping shared universe pretty close to the April Fool’s gag we made in 2015. Except Spooder-Man… There’s no sign of Spooder-Man yet.

Zack Snyder Directing Star Wars Spinoff After Justice League (2016)

In 2016, Zack Snyder was still working on Justice League, continuing his three-movie run in the DCEU. While no one could predict the trajectory that particular project would take, Screen Rant seized upon the director’s burgeoning reputation on April 1, reporting Lucasfilm had recruited Snyder for a Star Wars anthology movie in the mold of Rogue One, using Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Sumurai as a basis. As you might’ve guessed, we were fibbing, but three years beforehand, Snyder had unsuccessfully pitched a Seven Samurai-inspired Star Wars story to Lucasfilm.

Although Zack Snyder hasn’t officially joined the galaxy far, far away, his upcoming Rebel Moon movie comes pretty darn close. An epic sci-fi production for Netflix, Snyder has confirmed Seven Samurai and Star Wars are Rebel Moon‘s main influences, but the connection runs even deeper. Rebel Moon‘s script is actually repurposed from that aforementioned 2013 Star Wars pitch. Essentially, the unrealized movie that prompted our April Fool’s Joke in the first place will begin filming imminently, and while Rebel Moon won’t come with official Star Wars branding, its concept art and story details continue to cement those early parallels to George Lucas’ world.

Star Wars: Lucasfilm Announces Rogue One Sequel (2017)

2016’s Rogue One shocked Star Wars fans with a brutal finale where every single main character perished to steal the Death Star plans. You see the inherent ridiculousness, therefore, when on April 1, 2017 we suggested a Rogue One sequel was in the works at Lucasfilm. No characters remain to make a sequel with. History has looked kindly upon our humble jape, however, and – bending the rules slightly for this entry – two Rogue One follow-ups are actually in various stages of development.

There’s Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron – currently due for 2023 as the only confirmed Star Wars movie on Lucasfilm’s slate. Rogue Squadron‘s focus is Luke Skywalker’s team of crack X-Wing pilots, and as revealed in 2018’s Star Wars #52, the “Rogue Squadron” name is directly inspired by Jyn Erso’s Rogue One, with Luke choosing the name to inspire Erso’s courage and commitment to the Rebel Alliance. Though it won’t feature the same cast, Rogue Squadron is effectively a sequel – at the very least a spiritual sequel – to Rogue One. Over on Disney+, Lucasfilm is also developing Andor, starring Diego Luna as the titular character from Rogue One. Though a prequel, Andor is still a continuation of Rogue One… kinda.

Supernatural Prequel Show Starring Young Winchesters In Development For After Final Season (2020)

April 2020 was, er… not Earth’s best month. Like every TV production, Supernatural entered an enforced hiatus, delaying the previously-confirmed series finale until later in the year. Audiences were already speculating over potential spinoffs and sequels and, trying to inspire a few much-needed laughs, Screen Rant played upon this speculation for April Fool’s Day 2021, reporting a Young Winchesters prequel had been green-lit by The CW.

A little more than a year later, and with Supernatural‘s finale all wrapped up, Jensen and Danneel Ackles announced development on The Winchesters – a Supernatural prequel series. In fairness, we didn’t nail this one completely. The initial April Fool’s article teased a prequel starring younger versions of Sam and Dean Winchester, whereas The Winchesters will actually focus on their parents, John and Mary. Having said that, the Ackles’ project could still introduce pre-teen Sam and Dean in a future season, or via a secondary timeline set in the aftermath of Mary’s death. Either way, a Winchester-based Supernatural prequel has now made the leap from tongue-in-cheek Screen Rant April Fool’s to real life.