Did James Franco Find Real Alien Footage or Is He Just Trolling Everyone?

James Franco has found his way back on social media, but this time, it’s to reveal “some serious shit” that he claims has been going on.

On June 3, the scandal-plagued Oscar-nominated actor popped up on TikTok with a new account, as he’s mostly remained off social media since his 2018 following sexual misconduct allegations. In his first video, he clarified that it’s really him and not AI, writing in the caption, “I can’t say too much right now. But stick around and I promise it will all make sense.”

To any average TikTok user, their first thought might be: Is James Franco crazy? Don’t worry, because he already clarified in that first video that he’s not. “I maybe seem crazy, like, why? What’s going on? What’s the gimmick? No. This is real,” he said.

However, in the many bizarre and cryptic videos that he’s posted since the beginning of June, they tell a different story. Appearing often frantic, Franco has continued to state that he thinks he’s being watched or followed and that he’s worried he might disappear.

This led fans to speculate what was really going on, with many predicting that it’s all tied to promotion for an upcoming movie project. But on June 15, Franco revealed in another video that all the secrecy has to do with an alien he allegedly witnessed on his property.

After saying that he’s going to expose the footage of the extraterrestrial encounter, Franco started teasing the date, July 13. “OK, they hacked my account. I got it back. They want me to stop. People think I’m acting crazy. Whatever. I’m not acting crazy. I saw something. They tried to hack my account and I got it back,” he said in a panicked video on June 25. “They don’t want me to show what I’m gonna show. I’m gonna show it. I already told you, 7/13.”

Once the big day arrived on Monday, Franco said in the much-anticipated video that this was “thrust upon me” to reveal. “I saw something, and I thought, you know what? I can’t keep this quiet,” he stated. “I need to get this out for that very reason that people are trying to stop me.”

However, I’m not sure the footage that Franco has been hyping up for a month was what fans were expecting. In the black-and-white clips, an alien-like figure can be seen roaming outside his house as well as coming up close to his windows.

But truthfully, the footage didn’t seem too convincing, and fans in the video’s comment section agreed. “Clearly fake but I’ll say it again, I’m excited for whatever movie this is for,” one person wrote, while another added, “God damnit James Franco, you made us wait for this?!” Users also note that you have to be a paid subscriber to Franco’s account to see additional footage.

It seems fans will just have to wait and see if Franco really is just trolling the internet in his free time or if this is all part of a larger project — a movie perhaps? “A lot more footage dropping soon! It gets very crazy!!!” a message read at the end of Monday’s video.

The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Franco’s rep for more information and to confirm it’s the actor’s real TikTok account, but did not hear back at the time of publication. Also, according to Franco’s IMDb page, he’s currently working on several films, but none appear to be centered on extraterrestrial life.

Once known for his prolific output, Franco has barely featured in mainstream film and television projects since the sexual misconduct allegations against him became public. The actor’s last major film project was the Coen brothers’ comedy Western anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs for Netflix in 2018. Franco’s last TV project was the HBO series The Deuce, which ended in 2019. He will feature in two upcoming films distributed by Lionsgate, however, including John Rambo in 2027 and the yet to be dated Golden State Killer, a film directed by and starring fellow Hollywood pariah Vincent Gallo.