'American Horror Story' Fans Think They Have Figured Out The Plot For 'AHS: 1984'

The ninth season of American Horror Story has been a big question mark up until a couple days ago, when showrunner Ryan Murphy released a full trailer revealing all of the cast members who will be traveling back to the 1980s for the series' next iteration. Now that fans have finally gotten a look at the cast, they have theories about what the new horror story might be. This AHS: 1984 theory makes a convincing case for what could really be going on in the new season.

Although audiences finally know the title and cast of the new season of American Horror Story, the overall plot is still a big mystery. Brief trailers have teased that the new season will be a send-up of '80s slasher movies, but obviously there is more going on than just a spoof. That is why fans think there may have been some big clues hidden in the cast reveal video. The predominant theory among the fandom is that AHS: 1984 will actually take place on a movie set. The cast reveal video definitely seems to confirm this theory, given that it is filmed in the style of a camera test with the actors' marks clearly visible on the ground.

Of course, the camera test vibe may just be a campy stylistic choice for this cast announcement video, but the movie set theory actually does make sense with what fans know about the new season's theme so far. AHS: 1984 is meant to be an homage to classic slasher movies, so it makes sense that the season may revolve around a troupe of actors making their own '80s-set slasher movie. Interestingly enough, this theory also brings up the potential for the new season to actually not be set in the '80s as predicted, since these could be present-day actors just playing parts in a film taking place during that decade.

American Horror Story superfans will be quick to point out that this movie set theory closely mirrors the plot of Season 6, AHS: Roanoke, which also centered on a troupe of actors making a movie. It does seem pretty unlikely that the show would go in such a similar direction again, but the movie set theory could still hold up if it separates itself enough from Roanoke. For instance, fans think 1984 may take a much campier approach and revolve around a mysterious serial killer offing the actors one by one while they shoot their movie, which would be pretty different from the more dark and moody tone of Roanoke's documentary.

While fans are left to theorize about what story the new season will tell, at least they do know who will be starring in AHS: 1984. The American Horror Story alums returning for the new season are Emma Roberts, Cody Fern, John Carroll Lynch, Leslie Grossman, and Billie Lourd. The season will also feature AHS newcomers Angelica Ross, Matthew Morrison, Zach Villa, and DeRon Horton. Both Ross and Morrison have worked with Ryan Murphy before, on Pose and Glee, respectively.

American Horror Story: 1984 will premiere on FX on Sept. 18.