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If you are one of the countless members of the Gravity Falls fandom, you were undoubtedly thrown for a loop as a secret countdown clock featured in The Book of Bill led you on a wild chase, leading to more questions than answers. Of course, that might be the name of the game.
Credit: Disney
What do puzzles, The Great Gatsby, and the chaotic and charismatic Bill Cipher all have in common? Probably nothing, or it could be absolutely everything! Only Alex Hirsch knows for sure.
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What looked like a possible announcement for a long-desired third season of the Disney Channel cult classic animated series only further perplexed its fanbase, leading to more speculation as to what exactly is going on. The whole situation is far too elaborate to be anything other than a new season, spinoff, or possibly a movie, but that might be what Bill Cipher would want us all to think.
What’s Happening to Gravity Falls?
Credit: Disney
In case you weren’t a kid between 2012 and 2016, Gravity Falls was an animated series on Disney Channel and Disney XD created by longtime animator Alex Hirsch. Inspired by shows like Twin Peaks, the series followed the adventures of Dipper and Mable Pines as they explored the strange and unusual phenomenon surrounding the titular town.
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Aided by Grunkle Stan, the lovable Soos, and other colorful characters at the Mystery Shack, the twins explored the dark secrets lying beneath the strange small town. Throw in a tribe of gnomes, zombies, mermen, sea monsters, and a one-eyed triangular demon with a love for codes and puzzles, and you’ve got a hit that kept Disney crawling with fans for years.
The series ended after 40 episodes, with Hirsch claiming that was all the story he had to tell. However, The Book of Bill demonstrates that both the creator and the town of Gravity Falls are far from finished.
As fans continue to pour over the lore of the series and the countless codes, hints, ciphers, and subliminal messages of the book, fans like @dnd_with_ross began to wonder if this was all an elaborate prank worthy of Bill Cipher himself. Could this all be a troll move?
@dnd_with_ross Idk i just feel like we are doing a lot of work to solve this puzzle (which to be clear, has been a lot of fun and made me happy to be a fan of the show) and im worried the amount of dedication the community is showing won’t match the payoff and might rub some people the wrong way. Hope im wrong! #gravityfalls #billcipher #gravityfallscountdown
The creator above makes a very interesting and extremely poignant point about the whole scavenger hunt motif. “The build-up has to correlate with the amount of build-up you’re giving it.”
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Due to the response from the fanbase, it’s highly unlikely this will just be a throwaway gag, but it also might be the case that the creators bit off more than they could chew. Since the announcement broke the internet this week, it might twist Disney and Hirsch’s arms into making a third season by force.
You Can’t Handle the Truth
Credit: Disney
Anyone who picked up The Book of Bill knows that Alex Hirsch clearly devoted a lot of creative effort into its puzzles and codes, and anyone who visited the website for the countdown clock saw just how much detail went into pushing the mystery even further. However, that only proves how much Disney might have invested in this.
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The book, the website, the countdown clock, and the litany of clues all have a purpose. The whole thing took time, effort, and (most importantly) money to pull off; why go to all that effort just for something as simple as merchandise or a comic book?
Something big is coming, and it will affect the fans, characters, and other parties involved with Gravity Falls. Whether that’s another book, a new season, or even a speculated spinoff starring Bill Cipher, it’s going to be met by thunderous applause either way.
Have you solved the mystery? Tell us about it in the comments below!
