Clare's New 'Bachelorette' Poster Might Be A Major Clue About Her Season

Hold up, new Bachelorette news here. While everyone has been trying to figure out what the heck is going on with the upcoming season of The Bachelorette for the past several weeks — with a second lead reportedly coming into the mix, Chris Harrison leaving set, and more — people have been really thrown for a loop. Now, a very obvious The Graduate reference in Clare's new Bachelorette poster could serve as a hint for what's to come. Let's decode what it could mean, shall we?

The recently revealed poster for Clare Crawley's upcoming Bachelorette season is a full-body pic of Clare looking fab as hell and holding a rose, while a foot of someone (seemingly a man) putting on a sock takes center frame. "It's about time," the poster reads at the top. ABC released the poster via Instagram on Aug. 27, and immediately sparked fan conversation, since, you know, feet aren't typically the prime focus of other Bachelorette promotional pics.

Here's the deal: The new poster is a blatant nod at a similar poster for the 1976 film The Graduate, which could mean the upcoming Bachelorette season is similar to the movie in some way. In that film, a 21-year-old guy is seduced by a much older woman, but eventually falls for her younger daughter. In the poster, Clare mimics the pose of the leading 1976 man, so at least Bachelorette producers aren't just straight-up equating the 39-year-old lead to Mrs. Robinson (the older woman in the film).

So, what could this mean for the upcoming season? Perhaps the "younger man falls for older woman" situation in The Graduate will mimic what that plays out on screen for the reality show. Multiple outlets reported in early August that 39-year-old Clare had stepped down from the lead role because she fell for 31-year-old contestant Dale Moss early and didn't feel the need to go on. ICYMI, to keep the season going, Tayshia Adams was reportedly brought in as the second lead and, according to multiple publications, is expected to film her own journey to find love as the second part of Season 17.

In The Graduate, the man ends up falling for the younger woman anyway, alluding to the idea 29-year-old Tayshia will find love as the second Bachelorette of the season too. Here's to hoping this poster means a happy ending for all is on the horizon.

For now, this is all just speculation, at least until Season 16 of The Bachelorette premieres on Oct. at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.