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Confirmed Predictions
The plot will involve Kaiba trying to bring Atem back.
The Battle City arc ended with Kaiba promising through internal dialogue not to lose to the Other Yugi next time. Except that, in the manga continuity, he never got to see Atem again after that.Keeping in mind that Kaiba will get a protagonist role in this movie, while at the same time being intended to "look more villainous", according to Takahashi, it's very possible that the new villain will appear to offer him a Deal with the Devil to change this, triggering the main conflict of the story.
His duel with Yugi will either be a Get A Hold Of Yourself Man moment, an "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight, and/or a way to show us that finally, finally, Kaiba is able to move on and be at peace with himself.
- Alternatively, his duel with Yugi will be Yugi proving himself to Kaiba as Atem's successor, and Kaiba comes to recognise that Yugi's duel style, while different than Atem, is equally powerful.
- Indeed, the images and designs that have been shown (his serious expressions, art of what seems to be him wearing the trademark Coat Cape) hint a lot at Yugi being not so different from Atem.
- Basically confirmed. Kaiba is putting the Puzzle back together under the delusion he can see and duel Atem again.
Alternatively, Kaiba won't win his duel with Yugi.
This is mostly for fanon and Status Quo Is God reasons, since while it would make Kaiba look stronger and imply he had finally conquered the demons that stopped him winning, it would probably hurt Yugi's original character arc of becoming a strong duelist if he were to lose to Kaiba, the one person Atem routinely and constantly beat, so soon after becoming another person to hold the title King of Games.- Confirmed. Yugi attacks Kaiba for 2500 damage, but his LP counter stops at 100. Aigami interrupts before it can conclude.
The new Egyptian characters are actually siblings.
This will be used to give Kaiba some reason to sympathise with the villain, and help redeem him at the end.- Confirmed, but Kaiba doesn't sympathize with them and it's unclear if Aigami is redeemed.
LittleKuriboh will make an abridged version of this movie.
Confirmed. LittleKuriboh confirmed it at Kami-Con 2017. However, he says it will come out after he finishes the series. So we're gonna have to wait a loooooooong time. Jossed Predictions
The movie will tie into Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V in some way.
The film is coming out while Arc V is airing and its name, "The Dark Side of Dimensions", could tie into the alternate dimension plot of the latter.- Hinted at, since Kaiba's newest revealed monster is "Blue-Eyes Alternate White Dragon", seemingly tying into the ARC-V idea of dimensional alternates.
- Or the name Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon comes from the fact that it's based on the alternative design of BEWD that will be featured in the movie.
- Either way having a movie that sounds like it will have an alternate dimension and an anime with an alternate dimensions plot coming out at the same time, especially since ARC V has been a giant tribute to the entire franchise, seems pretty fishy to me. Even if one is manga verse and the other anime...still fishy.
- Or the name Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon comes from the fact that it's based on the alternative design of BEWD that will be featured in the movie.
- Jossed. Nothing in the movie relates to Arc-V.
Retcons to explain why Kaiba knows Atem's name will become a case of Nice Job Breaking It, Hero
In the manga a month passed between Millennium world and the last trip to Egypt. Yugi could easily have called Kaiba or left a message for him with someone explaining what had happened and that Atem might be leaving soon. Kaiba may well have tried to reach Egypt to see him off, only to be too late. As a result, he may resent the others for not getting his last shot to beat Atem.- Jossed; it's never explained how he knows.
Yugi and Kaiba WILL duel, but only at the end.
It's possible the duels we see aren't how they appear. Yugi could well be dueling Aigami, and Kaiba could spend the movie trying to get Atem back by exploiting whatever plan it is Aigami has. Yugi ends up with the rebuilt Puzzle, and Aigami uses it to send him to another dimension through his connection to the Pharaoh. Yugi attempts to slow Aigami's plan down, presumably by a children's card game, and Kaiba tries to find Atem. Atem will either refuse to duel him and give him new motivation to go back and help stop Aigami, or duel him to demonstrate that Kaiba needs to give up his need to be on top if he wants to be strong. Kaiba will go back and help Yugi try to fix things, and the movie will end with Aigami in the gang, and Yugi and Kaiba dueling.- Jossed. Yugi and Kaiba duel in the middle of the movie, but the movie ends with Kaiba and Atem about to duel.
Aigami (the villain of the movie) is actually another version of Z-ONE.
Z-ONE has numerous bodies sent throughout time, each with a copy of his brain in a robot body that looks like Yusei with some sort of physical difference. The movie's climax is Yugi and Kaiba ridding the multiverse of all the Z-ONEs.- Jossed. Aigami is completely separate from a Z-ONE.
Kaiba will win his duel against Yugi
Kaiba is said to be the main character of the film. He will beat Yugi, but Yugi will reclaim his title by either masterminding Aigami's defeat or beating Kaiba in the process of beating Aigami.- Jossed. Yugi attacks Kaiba for 2500 damage, but his LP counter stops at 100. Aigami interrupts before it can conclude.
Aigami's ace monster will share traits with the Egyptian Gods
In that it too will be a Level 10 Monster needing three tributes, possibly with 4000 ATK. It will come with an orange (Effect Monster) border which will make its transition into the real game much simpler.- Jossed; all his monsters and other cards are based on/around cubes and spheres, and ultimately look closer to Cosmic Horror material. Also, the unique battle mechanics make it difficult to figure out how they work under normal conditions.
Mokuba will be kidnapped at some point.
Since it's the only way to get Kaiba to help out if the world needs saving...- Besides appealing to his ego or threatening his company, to be fair.
- Jossed; while he's put in danger briefly, he's never kidnapped.
The film will incorporate elements from Priest Seto/ Kisara's Aborted Arc.
According to Word of God, Kazuki Takahashi fell ill while writing the end of the Millennium World story arc but was unable to take time off to recover. As such, he had to cut Priest Seto's story arc short. He may use this film as an opportunity to tell that story, either by reworking it around modern day Seto (i.e. Kaiba) or referring to it as something that happened in the past but wasn't seen in the manga/ anime (as the Pharaoh's memories seen therein are revealed to be Bakura's RPG Shadow Game ).- Jossed. Kisara and the ancient Egypt arc are never mentioned at all.
Mokuba will be a KC employee.
Or one with a higher position than before, assuming he helped out with staffing at Kaiba-land (though this was mostly seen in the anime). This was the reason lineart shows him with a preppy haircut and suit.- Jossed. An executive is not an employee, and Seto passed on leadership of the company to Mokuba at the end of the movie.
Kisara will make an appearance.
Since the movie is focused on Kaiba, it would make sense for his fixation on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and the reason behind it to be addressed because of how integral it is to his character. Kisara could appear when it comes up, maybe in a dream or flashback or in tying in with the above theory of incorporating elements from her Aborted Arc with Priest Seto. Alternatively, a modern version of her could show up (probably not an actual reincarnation because her spirit is the Blue-Eyes, unless there's a Hand Wave explanation, but she could echo Kisara in appearance/personality) to hint at a Reincarnation Romance with Kaiba.- Almost nearly confirmed. She actually does show up in the Transcend Game manga that's written by Kazuki Takahashi, and the events there are meant to serve as a prequel to Dark Side of Dimensions. During Kaiba's Near-Death Experience within the virtual cyberspace that he created, he was expecting to reach Atem but ended up seeing a blurred vision of Kisara instead. Since this event is implied to be the main motivating factor for Kaiba's obsession with Atem reaching unhealthy levels, it's very possible that Kisara will appear in some form within the movie proper.
- Jossed in the movie itself, as she never appears. Kaiba's focus is solely on Atem.
The plot will involve Aigami trying to steal the Pharaoh's power.
The second trailer and images show the Puzzle with a piece missing. It's implied Kaiba rescued it and is trying to reassemble it, presumably to get Atem back from the Afterlife. The one with the missing piece is Aigami, who wants to use the Puzzle as a conduit to create a bridge to the Afterlife and steal Atem's magic. The trailer shows him with the beginnings of the Millennium eye on his forehead and an army of kids with golden eyes, so presumably he then intends to use the Pharaoh's power for world domination, since the Pharaoh himself is no longer around to stop him. The Puzzle presumably still has some link to the Pharaoh, having housed his soul for so long.- Jossed, he wants to stop the Puzzle from being completed so he stole its pieces.
Sera is a Suspiciously Similar Substitute for Shadi.
But in child form. Seriously, look at her facial expressions in the Transcend Game prequel manga. She is very obviously up to something, even if she appears benign and young. Most likely she is working with Aigami to manipulate Kaiba for their own ends, as Shadi once used Marik as his pawn to deliver the god cards. The both of them sporting Egyptian dress, it's easy to assume it has some link to the Pharaoh or his powers.- Jossed, as she's actually a hero who wants to save Aigami from darkness.
Tetsu Ushio will appear again.
Jossed.4Kids (now 4KMedia) and the dub voice actors are fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series. The Kudaragi gang is voiced by prominent comedians in the Japanese version and LK could be a logical English counterpart, especially since he now does some professional voice work and 4Kids once expressed interest in working with him.- Jossed. Kudaragi (Scud) is voiced by Billy Bob Thompson.
Mixed Predictions
Kaiba and Yuugi will duel for the completion of the puzzle
The puzzle can only be completed by the one who's worthy, in other words, Yuugi. From the manga, we know that anyone else other than him who tries will go insane, as it happened with Otogi's/Duke's father. In the trailers so far, however, we see Seto Kaiba managed to nearly assemble it save for one piece, perhaps with the use of some crazy software, and come out unscathed (this might have contributed to his Sanity Slippage though).Aigami, however, was the one who stole the piece and delivered it to Yuugi before the puzzle was completed. Kaiba finds out and demands Yuugi complete the puzzle, since he's the one who's worthy, if Yuugi puts the last piece of the puzzle, technically, he would be the one to complete it and no one would go crazy (and whatever magic Kaiba had expected would probably work). Yuugi refuses of course, and thus they duel to decide what will happen with the last piece...
- Confirmed AND jossed. Kaiba tries to do this but Yugi intends to duel Aigami first, as Aigami has one piece and Yugi has the other. He completes the Puzzle during his duel with Kaiba, showing Kaiba that completing it is meaningless as Atem has already passed on.
Unsorted Predictions
Synchro and Pendulum monsters will be used
There is a "Blue-Eyes" Synchro monster https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Blue-Eyes_Spirit_Dragon
with an effect that prevents multiple monsters from being Special summoned at the same time suggesting that Kaiba will Synchro summon against someone that uses Pendulm summons.- Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon and the other "Blue-Eyes"-related cards from the Shining Victories booster pack are most likely unrelated to the movie.
The English dub of this movie will retcon the Filler Arc status of the Virtual World arc.
Since promotional materials imply that the English dub of this movie will be treated as being in continuity with the anime rather than the manga, there's an excuse to reference anime exclusive elements. Perhaps Kaiba's new Neurons Duel Disk system will be said to have been derived from the same virtual reality technology seen in the Virtual World arc, making that arc no longer filler. Further Theories
Everyone is in still in school since they flunked out.
What with missing so much of it, they all had to repeat a school grade to get back on track. Otherwise they should probably be in college by now, if they finished the series around age 16.- Since this seems to follow the manga continuity, however, they only missed from a few days to little more than a week total note , and at least one arc occurred while they had the week off, or something. And even if they did have to repeat a grade, the movie takes place only 6 months after the end of the manga. They'd still be in their last or second to last year at school.
Yugi has a job at a cafe where card games are allowed.
Why else would he be wearing something other than his school uniform in the second trailer? It was never really about the duel
Meaning the epilogue is actually Bittersweet, even heartwarming.Even taking the Darker and Edgier original manga into consideration, the idea of Kaiba's trip to the underworld being a Bad End for a guy who just couldn't let it go seems against type, and not in line with the tone of the series. Especially with the the way his reception by Atem is presented. Consider instead: it was never actually about the duel, and he wasn't driven to some sort of selfish mania out of pride. Kaiba actually just missed Atem, as he was really the only one other than Mokuba who he could have considered not just an equal- but a friend. Someone whom he genuinely bonded with repeatedly. And that loss hit him hard. The ending is Kaiba, yes, literally accepting that Atem is gone, but on the other refusing to accept a LIFE without him. As he's realized the life he'd built for himself, one he was entirely willing to throw away in some way or another repeatedly to see Atem again, isn't ever going to make him happy. So he chooses to finally abandon his old miserable life, leaving Mokuba (irresponsibly, but then kids are treated like adults in this series all the time) free to decide what to do with his own life without Kaiba's shadow over him, to be somewhere else with Atem and live in a way that'll make him happy.
It's worth noting that the "happiness" of this depends entirely upon one interpreting the afterlife in-universe in a New Plane of Existence way, as per Egyptian myth. Which could be considered intentional, actually.
- Debatable. Promotional material for the movie in both languages is about Kaiba wanting to duel and defeat Atem as a rival, and the official translation of Transcend Game even has him vow to bring an end to the dead king, and says "if he only had one more chance, one more duel, one more opportunity to prove his superiority". However the speech Kaiba delivers in the original Japanese film may suggest more layers to his motivations; notably the lines, "For the one we care, we fight. Against the one with different ideologies, we fight. Those stupid wars where people hurt each other have had history repeat itself. What’s even sillier is even the winners have imprisoned themselves in flesh." Kaiba's actual fate at the end remains ambiguous as well.
Kaiba plays up his behaviour as a PR stunt.
Truth in Television: sometimes CEO's or other executives will have larger than life personalities to put a face on their corporation. Kaiba is arguably playing up his awesome ego and pulling ridiculous stunts get the public to associate Kaiba Corp with two things: top of the line tech and a refusal to accept limitations to their potential.
The original plan for Dark Diva...
...Was for him to fuse with or be possessed by Yami Bakura as dramatic irony (he wants revenge on this guy and now that guy took over his body and became a monster!), but they decided against it. The Quantum Cube came from another dimension or was the result of a Time Paradox.
Given its powerset and extremely vague origin as an eighth Millennium Item, with no idea how it was made, maybe it wasn't made in the original YGO-verse, or was created as a result of what it could do. Sera just guessed at the 'eighth Item' thing, not knowing how the others were made.
The man with dark blue hair who is referred to as Bakura's father in the main series is a coworker who adopted him. Bakura's claim in the main series that his father bought it for him at an Egyptian antique store is, Watsonianly, a deliberate falsehood.
This resolves the unintentional retcon without fully discarding the original, and it makes perfect sense in-character. After all, Bakura is introduced having just changed schools to avoid being ostracised. He's not going to say "When I was a little kid, I saw someone murder my father with this, then I blacked out, and the next thing I knew these spikes were embedded under my skin and the murderer was dead, too."Atem (possibly with Yugi’s help) created “Palladium Oracle Mahad” using a Shining Draw.
There’s no evidence that “Palladium Oracle Mahad” was in Yugi’s Deck before Atem appeared and drew it, and it’s rather interesting how its effect of doubling its ATK when battling a DARK monster makes it exactly what he needed to draw to beat Aigami. It should go without saying that Atem is more than powerful enough as a Duelist to not only perform a Shining Draw, but to be able to create the card he draws. Yugi flashing a couple of times as Atem prepares to draw the card invokes the parallels between their union and that of Yuma and Astral's Zexal. The card also glows as Atem draws it, in a way very reminiscent of how they do when characters perform Shining Draws in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.