Is Mr. Bean An Alien? A Very Wild And Believable Fan Theory Explained
Mr. Bean exists based on the strength of a simple yet endlessly entertaining premise: What if a guy were really weird? Such reasoning gave the Rowan Atkinson character his very own sitcom from 1990 to 1995, an animated spin-off series, and two feature films: 1997's "Bean" and 2007's "Mr. Bean's Holiday." Atkinson even reprised the character at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. An online theory posits that Mr. Bean wasn't merely a weird guy but rather an alien. The theory abounds in various corners of the internet, with one Reddit thread dated 10 years ago and respondents saying at the time that the theory had already been around for many years.
The most obvious clue to Mr. Bean's extraterrestrial nature is in the opening credits of the sitcom, in which a spotlight shines down on the hapless character. "Where once this light appeared like a spotlight on a stage, it now seemed to be a tractor beam from some UFO that had dropped Mr. Bean from outer space," wrote Jordan Potter of his experience rewatching the scene in an op-ed for Far Out Magazine.
Moreover, fans think Mr. Bean's otherworldly origins could explain his inability to grasp basic social mores, resulting in behavior that is far more than just strange or childlike. It certainly explains his inability to grasp the English language. For Reddit theorist u/iKomrade, it even explains his wardrobe: "He wears the same clothes all the time ... because he has no sense of how humans dress."
An animated series episode confirms the alien theory
Other Mr. Beanisms point to his roots in outer space. The aforementioned piece in Far Out Magazine notes that Mr. Bean's abilities often take on a "superhuman" quality. A supercharged electromagnetic current seems to run through Mr. Bean, allowing him to control television airwaves, among other farcical consequences.
Unlike other harebrained theories that circulate online, the "Mr. Bean is an alien" theory was acknowledged by the franchise, winkingly indicating that there might be some truth to it. In a 2004 episode of "Mr. Bean: The Animated Series" titled "Double Trouble," Mr. Bean encounters a doppelganger who wears the same clothes and even drives the same car. The doppelganger turns out to be one of many Mr. Bean clones who visit their former compatriot in a UFO.
The episode seems to confirm that Mr. Bean isn't just some weird guy but an alien separated from his tribe. But what if he is strange even by alien standards? Some Redditors pushed the alien theory even further, claiming that his fellow ETs banished him to Earth because he was too weird for outer space. As u/americanninjanarwhal put it, "Maybe he was annoying or weird even for aliens so they just dumped him on earth because they were tired [of] him."