Attack on Titan Multiverse theory suggests a new ending no one saw coming

Fans have had a mixed reaction to the possibility that the Attack on Titan anime could have an ending that is different from what the manga featured. Since the series' final chapter was released, a sizable portion of the fanbase has been dissatisfied with how things ended. That marked the start of a period in which fans speculated on alternate endings for the series.

Fans have been wondering about the possibility of a multiverse because the series explores some complex ideas, such as time travel. Although fans are aware of alternate timelines, it's possible that the anime will flip the table and totally alter the plot's direction.

Let’s take a look at how the anime could change the direction in which the plot is heading and analyze the important plot points that could allow an alternate ending.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the manga. All external media belongs to their respective owners and Sportskeeda claims no ownership of the same.

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Attack on Titan: Taking a look at how multiple timelines could lead to a different ending

The four possible timelines are the anime timeline, the Lost Girls timeline, the manga timeline, and the original timeline. Each of these timelines are connected, and the Hallucigenia is considered to be the link. Hallucigenia is the source of all living matter in Attack on Titan. It also endowed people with the powers of a titan. Its abilities are astounding, and fans witnessed the protagonist experience visions from alternate timelines in episode 19 of the final season. Eren saw Armin, who was nerd and a goth Mikasa, which is from the reality where the characters attended a high school.

This proves that Hallucigenia is the element that connects alternate realities, and Mikasa's grief would trigger alternate realities to exist. A visual novel in the Attack on Titan series titled Lost Girls explored this idea. In this version, Mikasa experiences intense grief after witnessing Eren die. She gets a vision from another universe and is stunned by this. The animated version of the visual novel took things a notch further by proving that Mikasa was the catalyst, since her grief caused the source of all living beings to create an alternate reality.

In these alternate universes, characters would be able to experience visions of their own actions but in different realities. This could serve as an explanation for Mikasa's constant headaches in the series.

In the original timeline of Attack on Titan, Mikasa and Eren lived together since she confessed her feelings. The house was probably built by the Attack Titan. When Eren was about to die, he asked Mikasa to live her life and move on. It was at this point that she expressed a great deal of grief and uttered the words, "See you later, Eren." This created another timeline, which was shown in the Attack on Titan manga. The first chapter began with the same words that she uttered in the other timeline.

In the manga, Eren woke up in a calm state and remembered the words she uttered in the other timeline, and asked her about the length of her hair. This was another indication of the fact that he remembered her from the alternate timeline. Eren asked Mikasa how she felt about him, and it wasn’t the answer he was looking forward to. Mikasa’s answer was influenced by the memory she had of him in the alternate timeline. Things went south quite fast when Eren started the Rumbling and the only way to stop him was by killing him. This resulted in a great deal of suffering and led to the manifestation of an alternate reality, which is featured in the anime.

In this timeline of Attack on Titan, Eren woke up in an exasperated state with visions of children’s toys. This was one of the most prominent hints that the anime would have a different ending. According to fan theories, the toys belonged to his child, and the suspicions grew stronger when Historia asked for his opinion on her getting pregnant. He could be the father since it aligns with his goals.

One alternate ending that fans expect is that Eren could possibly live and lift the curse of Ymir. The curse was lifted in the manga when Ymir saw Mikasa let go of the man she loved, thereby learning the lesson that slaves can free themselves from slavery. While this might be controversial, one possible way Eren could lift this curse is if he turned out to be the father of Historia’s child, which would make Mikasa feel like she was betrayed. If she moved on, the curse of Ymir could be lifted in the anime ending for Attack on Titan.

Fans are encouraged to wait until the series concludes to confirm this, as these are merely fan theories being explored.