The Internet is in full speculation mode about who the mysterious villainous looking silhouette was at the end of the trailer for Steven Universe: The Movie.
Even though we’re smack in the middle of a Steven Bomb fueled arc on the show, that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate and theorize about who this unknown entity is and show they fit into the plot. Our current working theory is that the movie is going to be the start of a very new adventure for Steven and the Crystal Gems, so with that in mind, let’s break down the possibilities for this new character and what it could mean for our favorite show.
If you haven’t checked out the trailer yet, give it a watch. It shows… well, basically nothing at all. Hence all the speculation!
With just a glance at a sinister silhouette and a brief laugh, we really don’t have much to work on, but here are a few directions the show could be going, based on how the plot has been progressing, and the common tropes and story structures of anime and other things that Steven Universe borrows from.
A New (Gem-Shard?) Fusion
We’re kinda running out of basic gems here, but that’s ok, because fusions open us up to a much broader realm of potential mashup characters. One of the neatest thing about fusions is that it allows character to evolve and get more powerful in a much cooler way than like, going super Saiyan for the third time in a row. Up until now we’ve always seen fusions grow larger and more intimidating, but there’d a lot of potential in something like a fusion of gem shards that stays small but extremely volatile. We’ve seen from the Off Colors that fusions can manifest in different and unique ways, and can include a large number of individual gems, so it would make sense that the shards could potentially form a whole gem.
A Corrupted Gem
We’ve seen what corruption does to gems, turning otherwise normal gems into massive monsters, but corruption comes in all forms. With the plot hinting towards fixing those corruptions, Steven Universe could be exploring the long term effects of trauma like corruption, and perhaps the lingering evil that resides within a gem the gang thinks they healed. It would provide a tragic tale with a clear path to redemption and healing, which is most of what Steven Universe is about.
A Gem More Powerful Than the Diamonds
Ok this one seems somewhat unlikely since when it comes to gems, Diamonds are on top. But think how cool it’d be for Rebecca Sugar to make an awesome metaphorical jab at the corrupt diamond industry by revealing that diamonds aren’t actually special? Heck you could introduce precious metals and we can compare the Diamonds to the Gold Standard. (But seriously you guys, diamonds are a scam, look it up, save your money.)
A Different Alien Species
Steven Universe draws a lot of inspiration from anime, and with shows like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto there are very long, but distinct sagas, often end capped by films. So maybe this film is the first entry into the new Steven Universe saga, one that will introduce us to a whole new non-Gem menace, something so powerful he’ll need all his new friends’ help to defeat it (and by defeat it, we mean win it over and become really good friends with it, maybe in a cute musical number, because that’s how Steven does it!)