The Field Of Dreams Mystery That Still Has Fans Scratching Their Heads
Based on W. P. Kinsella's novel "Shoeless Joe," the fantasy sports movie "Field Of Dreams" is considered a baseball classic. The film was directed by Phil Alden Robinson and centers on couple Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) and his wife Annie (Amy Madigan) as they trade their California residence for a farm in Iowa. Everything starts to take a mystical turn when Ray hears a mysterious voice that tells him, "If you build it, he will come." What follows is a quest to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield, and a fated meeting with the ghosts of disgraced player Shoeless Joe (Ray Liotta) and the Chicago Black Sox.
"Field Of Dreams" rightfully received many honors and accolades, and surprisingly, it's also getting a new life as an upcoming TV series for Peacock. The MLB even currently celebrates the movie with their annual Field Of Dreams Games, which have two teams face off at the actual Iowa site of the film (via MLB).
Over time, so much about the making and development of "Field Of Dreams" has been revealed. However, there's still one big mystery about "Field of Dreams" that continues to puzzle fans. And it's all thanks to that famous voice that spoke to Costner's character.
The famous voice is still unconfirmed
The famous "If you build it..." line is one of the most memorable quotes in "Field Of Dreams." The line is so firmly sewn into the fabric of pop culture that it's often been affectionately parodied and mistakenly misquoted (via Variety). We'd expect such an iconic line to have a known name attached to it, but instead, three decades later, it remains an enigma.
The voice in "Field of Dreams" is only credited as "Himself," which has sparked countless speculation. Fans on the Unresolved Mysteries subreddit have thrown out many possible theories. Besides usual suspects such as Kevin Costner and Ray Liotta, one popular choice included Mark Hamill because, as one Redditor noted, of his prolific voice work and connection with James Earl Jones, who starred both in "Star Wars" and "Field of Dreams."
Still, other Redditors pointed to "Field of Dreams" director Phil Alden Robinson due to the suspicious movie credit and the fact that he also voiced the line for a scratch track. However, whether it is Robinson or another actor, we shouldn't expect the director ever to divulge the true identity, as he seems to take great pleasure in keeping it a secret. "What's funny is that a few people who thought they knew have revealed it and gotten it wrong," Robinson said in an interview with The LA Times. "We'll let that remain a secret. It's a great mystery, and I like that."
Looks like we may be in for another decade of speculating.