History Main / LyingCreator

* ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'' was found to be missing a considerable number of promised features upon release. These include multiplayer interactions, an extensive trading and faction system, ships that have different features and specialisations, siding with specific factions being key to progress and important to develop for certain playstyles, customisation of player appearance, landing on asteroids, a persistent gameworld economy, giant fauna, planetary physics and realistic orbits and being able to simply fly and eventually reach a new system, all of these were specifically and clearly stated by creator Sean Murray to be in the game, even up to the last few months before release. Various major free updates would later avert this as they added in a majority of the missing content.

** In preparation for the relaunch of the ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' comic as ''Ultimate '''Comics''' Spider-Man'', he told readers that this would be an all-new way of telling Spider-Man stories, and there would even be a new Spidey... this turned out to be simply metaphorical, as Peter went through certain relationship and status quo changes in the course of a six month timeskip, but remained Spider-Man. The funny thing about this is that for the first four months, fans used everything from the manga-esque artwork and Peter's new, very feminine appearance (a result of the artwork, not the writing), to proclaim that Bendis was telling the truth and that Peter was actually his female clone [[Comicbook/SpiderWoman Jessica Drew]] in disguise. The return of Jessica in the Ultimate Enemy mini-series finally put this speculation to rest.
** According to Bendis, this is less Lying Creator and more creator changing his mind. Bendis had been wanting to kill off Peter for a while to make room for a [[AffirmativeActionLegacy "multiracial" Spider-Man]]. He wanted to do it during Ultimatum while they were killing off most of the other heroes, but decided there was still a story or two he wanted Peter to star in. He eventually made good on his promise and created a new Spider-Man, Comicbook/MilesMorales.

* After ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', Creator/DanDiDio claimed that from now on dead characters would '''stay dead''' and not be subject to resurrections. Cue ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' and the ComicBook/{{New 52}} relaunch, and now a bunch of dead characters are back thanks to the CosmicRetcon.

* When it was announced that Comicbook/ScarletWitch would join the post-''ComicBook/SecretInvasion'' incarnation of ''ComicBook/MightyAvengers'', Creator/DanSlott promised that it would be the ''real deal''. [[spoiler:It was Comicbook/{{Loki}} in disguise.]]

* At San Diego Comic Con 2010, James Robinson, in response to Roy Harper's right arm being hacked off in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueCryForJustice'', stated his intent was to create a superhero with a prosthetic limb which was not cybernetic in honor of the numerous Iraq War veterans sporting false and missing limbs. It should be noted that Robinson included a nod to veterans in ''Comicbook/BlackestNight: Superman'', but in the introduction to the trade of ''Cry for Justice'', Robinson makes absolutely no mention of any veterans and states that it was the decision of the editors to move Roy in that direction.

* An odd one for Marvel: When the comic book company cancelled ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers West Coast]]'' in favor of ''Force Works'', Wonder Man had his own comic. Well, in the first issue, Comicbook/WonderMan [[HeroicSacrifice dies saving the other team]]. At the same time, there was a listing for his title's next issue where he and The Beast team up to fight the Hate Monger. The next month, there's a note listing off upcoming issues stating that, because of this death, his title was cancelled. It's hard to wonder if this was something akin to the Flash example above or perhaps a major case of PoorCommunicationKills
* ''Hooooo, boy''. The early saga of the ''Comicbook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' was rife with this. When the character was revealed, Dan Slott told people that it was going to be a brand new person under the mask and not Peter Parker. Even more, there was a tweet mentioning Miguel O'Hara, ComicBook/SpiderMan2099, leading fans to think ''he'' was the new Spidey. [[spoiler:Technically, it's still Peter, but Miguel was a RedHerring, in a way]]. Then came the final issue of ''Amazing Spider-Man'' where we find out that [[spoiler:Peter died within Dr. Octopus' broken body and Otto is living in Peter's.]] Fans were ''livid'', especially when Dan said that they'd eventually warm up to the new status quo, mostly due to the fact that an early issue hinted that "Peter" and Mary Jane would hook back up. [[spoiler:Turns out that a piece of Peter's still living inside, trying to win back his body and Otto ended up breaking up with MJ in a case of ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies]].

* When Nick Spencer's highly controversial ''ComicBook/CaptainAmericaSteveRogers'' #1 revealed that Steve Rogers was actually a Comicbook/{{HYDRA}} sleeper agent, Axel Alonso and Nick Spencer promised that it was a totally legit retcon of the character's entire past and not due to reality-warping or memory manipulation. [[spoiler:The very next issue then revealed that the whole thing was the result of the Red Skull using Kobik to warp reality in order to rewrite Cap's memories.]]
** Spencer then promised that ''Comicbook/SecretEmpire'', the CrisisCrossover followup to that story, would [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial not be resolved with]] [[spoiler:a Cosmic Cube]]. [[spoiler:It was, as Kobik, who ''was'' the Cosmic Cube, recreated the good-guy Cap to defeat Steevil.]]
* ''Comicbook/TheWalkingDead'': Robert Kirkman repeatedly claimed over the years that the series would last at least 200 issues (at one point he even claimed it could be 300). He ended up providing a surprise end to the series in issue #193, with Image going so far as making covers for the non-existent #194 and #195 for solicitations, as Kirkman wanted to have the comic "die" as unexpectedly as [[AnyoneCanDie its characters]].

* Prior to the release of ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'', Creator/BryanSinger, [[spoiler:Famke Janssen]], and [[spoiler:James Marsden]] all claimed that [[spoiler:Jean Grey]] and [[spoiler:Comicbook/{{Cyclops}}]] would not be appearing in the film in any way. They lied to hide the fact that [[spoiler:Cyclops and Jean]] were shown BackFromTheDead in the surprise [[spoiler: EveryoneLives]] ending.

* Creator/{{Hasbro}} employees sometimes justify scrapping certain previously-revealed Marvel Legends figures, such as Phoenix Force Comicbook/{{Cyclops}} from ''[[Comicbook/AvengersVsXMen AvX]]'', by saying that they don't like to depict costumes or identities that are no longer being used in the comics. They then released a figure of [[Comicbook/{{Venom}} Eddie Brock]] as Anti-Venom, despite the fact that the Anti-Venom symbiote was destroyed during ''Comicbook/SpiderIsland'' and that Brock currently goes by the name of Toxin in the comics.

* During production of ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'', it was hotly debated among fans whether the special would feature the return of WebVideo/ThatDudeInTheSuede, the site's first outside hire who had left for two years on a mission for his church. Both Suede and the Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses staff made statements that they remained on good terms, but Suede had decided not to return to the site after he returned home and preferred to focus on some new online projects. Then a certain mask comes off...

* Creator/MichaelBay found he could keep no secrets while making ''Film/{{Transformers}}'', so he subverted it by being completely open. After his computer was hacked, anyway. However, he ''publicly announced'' that there would be false leads and red herrings thrown out there in regards to the sequel. Writer Roberto Orci remarked that it seemed most fans could tell the real news from false news, and [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil trailers leading]] up to ''Revenge of the Fallen'' outright disproved Bay's remarks. Bay was more successful in his misinformation for ''Dark of the Moon,'' where he stated that fan-favorite Shockwave would be the main antagonist of the film. The result was that the TheReveal of the true BigBad [[spoiler:(Sentinel Prime, ancient leader of the Autobots and Optimus's former mentor and father-figure)]] was a huge blow to viewers. While Shockwave does appear in the film, his role is [[DemotedToExtra sadly short]].

* The mysterious [[AmbiguousGender Pyro]] from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. Promotional art calls them both "he" and "she", sometimes in the same sentence ("Meet the Pyro"), and many times the [[TheWikiRule official wiki]] is edited by moderators just to change up what gender they're going with this time. This would be FlipFlopOfGod if it weren't so deviously intentional.

* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' creator Bill Lawrence and other members of the staff had repeatedly stated that J.D. and Elliot would not end up together, and had written several episodes that showed what a terrible couple they were, that all they really want to do is have sex, and finally brought the relationship to its seemingly ultimate conclusion in the penultimate episode of the third season. By the time the eighth season rolled around they had made themselves into liars by giving into the significantly shipping fandom that had stuck around and been vocally in favour of JD & Elliot getting back together. It turned out to be a [[TropesAreNotBad good decision]] as it helped cement their character development, resulted in a happy ending that satisfied the long term fans of the show.

* About two weeks before he was announced for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', a representative of Sega said that VideoGame/{{Sonic|TheHedgehog}} appearing in the series "wasn't in the cards."

* Toei got one over the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' fandom during ''Anime/SuitePrettyCure'': a blurry picture of two Cures, Cure Beat and Cure Symphony, was leaked onto the Internet and fan speculation went wild. [[spoiler:Turns out, it was fake - there was a Cure Beat, but it wasn't the one on the picture, but there was no Cure Symphony - it was Cure Muse's role! Turns out Toei was pissed off when the identity of [[Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure Cure Sunshine]] was accidentally revealed a month prior to her first appearance.]]

** And we have his "Dead is Dead" policy... which seems to only be enforced for characters he doesn't like or killed off himself, such as Karen Page. ComicBook/JeanGrey, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/{{Psylocke}}, ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, Harry Osborn and even ComicBook/BuckyBarnes have all come back, which makes fans annoyed that he's not allowed the writers to bring Karen back, since it's obvious he doesn't really mean it. Although between ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' and ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'' Joe Quesada admitted that the "Dead stays Dead" policy was stupid (since in comics it's like trying to plug a dam after the valley is flooded).

** The book's entire ''existence'' is because of a lie. Kirkman was worried that Image wouldn't be interested in a straight-up zombie tale so he pitched it with the twist that roughly 50 issues in, it would turn out that the zombie uprising was all part of a plot by aliens to weaken humanity for invasion. By the time Image realized Kirman ''never'' had any intention of making this a sci-fi tale the book was a hit.

*** For the first big reveal in his second term as showrunner, RTD pulled off a combination of ExactWords and lying: [[spoiler:When Creator/NcutiGatwa was announced as the new Doctor, RTD was very specific with his language in press releases and interviews, referring to Gatwa only as the new Doctor, letting the media and fandom assume that meant he was the Fourteenth. The announcement that Creator/DavidTennant was returning for the 60th anniversary described it as the return of an old Doctor, with RTD's teasing about Tennant's return encouraging that line of thought. However, following the regeneration of Creator/JodieWhittaker's Thirteenth, the subsequent press release revealed that Tennant was the Fourteenth and Gatwa was the ''Fifteenth''.]]

* Director Sato Tatsuo said, "No romance", in regards to ''LightNovel/BodaciousSpacePirates'' and ''Anime/LagrangeTheFlowerOfRinne''. What he really meant was "No ''heterosexual'' romance". Or, in the latter, [[spoiler:"NoRomanticResolution"]].

** The book's entire ''existence'' is because of a lie. Kirkman was worried that Image wouldn't be interested in a straight-up zombie tale so he pithed it with the twist that roughly 50 issues in, it would turn out that the zombie uprising was all part of a plot by aliens to weaken humanity for invasion. By the time Image realize Kirman ''never'' had any intention of making this a sci-fi tale the book was a hit.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2011'': Prior to the publication of the ComicBook/New52's retool of Wonder Woman Creator/BrianAzzarello promised he wasn't changing her origin. Her origin had always been a woman with no father, whose powers and personality were all due to her upbringing by a peaceful egalitarian society of women. Azzarello's version was the daughter of an incestuous relationship between Zeus and his granddaughter, whose powers all came from Zeus and whose more heroic qualities were in spite of her being raised by a society of baby murdering, serial rapist, violent warrior misandrist women.

* ''Franchise/Pokémon'':

** ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' was cancelled when most people expected at least one more season. When it happened, Dan told everyone that it was natural because it hit a '60 episode limit'. This discounts that facts that Dan never saw the cancellation coming, was telling people that the SpinOff ''Series/SamAndCat'' would keep the Cat character on both shows right until the day ''Victorious'' was cancelled and that other members of the cast were "shocked" by the cancellation. The kicker is that he didn't write any series finale.

*** For the first big reveal in his second term as showrunner, RTD masterfully pulled off a combination of ExactWords and lying: [[spoiler:When Creator/NcutiGatwa was announced as the new Doctor, RTD was very specific with his language in press releases and interviews, referring to Gatwa only as the new Doctor, letting the media and fandom assume that meant he was the Fourteenth. The announcement that Creator/DavidTennant was returning for the 60th anniversary described it as the return of an old Doctor, with RTD's teasing about Tennant's return encouraging that line of thought. However, following the regeneration of Creator/JodieWhittaker's Thirteenth, the subsequent press release revealed that Tennant was the Fourteenth and Gatwa was the ''Fifteenth''.]]

* Creator/StevenMoffat seems to have learned a thing or two from Davies in ''Series/DoctorWho''.
** He made a statement saying that he wouldn't use monsters that only appeared in the classic series by the time he took over RTD in favor of creating new ones. Then came the trailers. Hey, aren't those Silurians? (Rule one: the Doctor lies. Rule two: River Song lies. Rule zero: Steven Moffat lies.)

*** RTD continued to lie about ''Doctor Who'' even after stepping down from it. He said he would never write an episode for Creator/MattSmith's Doctor. Guess who guest-stars in the RTD-penned ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' story [[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS4E5E6DeathOfTheDoctor "Death of the Doctor"]]?

** Creator/ChrisChibnall took a different approach and simply released very little information in advance about the plot content of Series 11. The history of this in the franchise meant that hardly any fans believed him when he claimed that the season would not feature any previously existing characters or alien cultures. However, he turned out to be telling the truth... in ExactWords as the 2019 New Year's Day special, broadcast only a few weeks after the end of the season proper, featured [[spoiler:a Dalek]].
** As for a lying Doctor performer, Creator/TomBaker openly admits that anything he says in interviews "may not be true" and might just be him making things up to waste his fans' time. His Big Finish interview CD, ''Tom Baker at 80'', is even sold with a disclaimer asking listeners to be picky about which parts of it they believe. Part of this is because he claims he has forgotten most of his time being the Doctor — although this claim may, of course, be a lie. Part of this may also be that a lifetime of being interviewed about the same old questions by irritating FanDumb types force you to start inventing new facts to keep the interviews interesting. Most preeminent Bakerologists hypothesise that ''most'' of what he says about his Doctor years is broadly accurate, but embellished to make it more entertaining — the rest is just telling lies for the sake of telling lies.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue''. The Sponsors-only ending of Revelation, Ch. 13 reveals that [[spoiler:Donut did not die in Recreation]], contrary to Burnie's earlier claims at the season premiere. [[Literature/TheBible Revelation chapter 13]] -- [[FauxSymbolism probably should have seen that one coming.]]

** After those tweets, Meghan was saddled with an unsavory reputation for being a Lying Creator, and sought to undo it over the next season. Unfortunately, one such [[http://derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/6/16/350059__safe_equestria+girls_flash+sentry_spoiler-colon-equestria+girls_season+4_twitter_meghan+mccarthy_spoiler-colon-s04.JPG tweet confirming the lack of a particular polarizing character]] in Season 4 was undone when he [[TheCameo cameo'd]] [[http://derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/1/25/533830__safe_twilight+sparkle_rarity_animated_princess+twilight_princess+cadance_pegasus_hub+logo_flash+sentry_hubble.gif in [=S4E10=]]] and had a speaking line in the finale. ([[ExactWords She did say he's "not a character", and he really isn't, he was a background extra]].)

** Also, from Valve, we have the mysterious [[AmbiguousGender Pyro]] from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. Promotional art calls it by both genders, sometimes in the same sentence, and many times the [[TheWikiRule official wiki]] is edited by moderators just to change up what gender they're going with this time. This would be FlipFlopOfGod if it weren't so deviously intentional.

* Music/CamperVanBeethoven initially claimed their CoverAlbum of Music/FleetwoodMac's ''Tusk'' was mostly recorded in 1987, with a few overdubs made in 2003, but later admitted that it was entirely made in 2003. They went so far as to make up an elaborate backstory about being stranded in a cabin with a four track machine and a copy of ''Tusk'', and tried to really make it sound like it could have been produced in those conditions. The whole project was done to test out how they'd get along in a studio setting after being broken up for years.
** The EP ''Vampire Can Mating Oven'' has liner notes by a fake critic named Isaac Fringe, full of fictional stories behind the songs - for instance, claiming that "Never Go Back" was written for a 1974 film called ''Vampire Surfers'' and that their cover of Music/RingoStarr's "Photograph" was inspired by a period when the group became collectively delusional about Ringo and ascribed fantastic powers such as flight to him.

* Wrestling/{{TNA}}, though they are surprisingly more successful than their predecessors WCW and WWE, for whatever that's worth. For example, in 2002 Jerry Jarret's claim was that TNA's talent were independent contractors, unlike WWE's (and thus could appear at independent shows without issue). This was proven false in 2004 when all TNA wrestlers were all pulled out of Wrestling/RingOfHonor, where many wrestled when OutOfFocus on television, derailing angles and killing title runs. It took three years for the ROH bots to forgive them, particularly after TNA agreed to a return only to pull out again in 2006 over a snow storm, which no one bought since Wrestling/CMPunk came back out of WWE developmental to save the show, only to see TNA do it again in 2007 because TNA didn't like the fact ROH wanted to do i-pay per views. Then it happened ''again'' in 2010 when the TNA office threw a tantrum over how ROH was ''booking'' the Murder City Machine Guns even though ROH was already giving into TNA's ridiculous demands for their supposedly "[[YouKeepUsingThatWord independent contractors]]". TNA was threatened with a lawsuit over the issue in 2012 (by former ROH manager [[Wrestling/DaffneyUnger Lucy]]) but managed to settle out of court in 2013. Two years to catch a lie, ''ten'' before TNA ''almost'' faced consequences. Wrestling/{{WSU}}'s Sean [=McCaffrey=], after years of business trouble, made it his mission to expose just how much TNA had misled people.

* When ''Film/Music2021'' was given an early release in Australia, certain scenes were harshly criticized for suggesting that when an autistic person is having a meltdown, [[CriticalResearchFailure the proper course of action is to forcibly pin them to the ground until they calm down]] (a practice which is unfortunately all too widespread, despite being known to traumatize, injure, or even suffocate and kill the person being restrained). Music/{{Sia}}, the film's director, delivered an apology, promising that the scenes promoting the use of restraints would be removed from the American release which was scheduled for February, and that a disclaimer warning against their use would be added to the start of the movie. However, when the film was released in America, said scenes were still present and there was no disclaimer.

* ''Series/{{Lost}}'':
** The creators did this at least once, implying that a particular background character would be important in Season 3... while he was mentioned, he didn't ''do'' anything. He showed up in a mobisode, however, and then in early season 5, [[spoiler:where he had the show's newest ironic death]].
** They stated that there wouldn't be time travel... in a question about whether there was something relating to time travel in season 2, a season that did not feature any time travel, thus not contradicting the reveal of time travel later.
** They have also issued {{Suspiciously Specific Denial}}s of, among other things, that the beach cable lead to an underwater DHARMA station and that the Island could move (saying to a question about the topic that ABC would fire them if they ever came up with a plot twist that crazy) before those plots came up in the series proper.
** An exact quote before season 3: "Here's what you won't see: Globetrotters, zombies, [[Series/GreysAnatomy the guy Meredith Grey didn't choose]], [[Series/GilligansIsland coconut radios]], [[Series/TwinPeaks Laura Palmer]], Jack laughing, '''Desmond running naked through the jungle''', the Others' annual talent show, '''buttons, timers, electromagnetic anomalies''', [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 Cylons]], cyclones, or clones, nanobots, [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Captain Jack Sparrow]], and '''time travel'''." (Bold added.) Desmond ran naked in episode 3x03, and was revealed in 3x08 to have been time traveling just before that. And Jack did laugh a little.
** During season two: "You will get your Libby episode. This season." They also claimed that a Rose and Bernard episode would only happen in a subsequent season. Libby gets killed off before having her own episode, while Rose and Bernard's episode shows up earlier than expected. However, Libby does get a flashback at the end of the Hurley episode ''Dave,'' when we learn that she and Hurley were in the same mental institution.
** Christian was stated to be undead and ''not'' a form of the Monster, only to be revealed as the Monster via dialogue in the sixth season. Season six also made it clear, with the finale, that sometimes (and in retrospect this possibly accounts for several of the appearances) it ''is'' the spirit of Christian.
** In an example of Lying Actor, [[spoiler:after his character Frank Lapidus was hit by a steel door on a sinking submarine and proceeded to not appear in the next two episodes with no word on his fate, actor Jeff Fahey confirmed in an interview that Frank had been killed, and that he (Fahey) had already moved on to ''Film/{{Machete}}''. Frank went on to show up alive and well partway through the series finale. Fahey lying in order to keep this a surprise is considered by many of the popular character's fans as a Crowning Moment of Awesome.]]

* Sometime after Mega Evolution was revealed to be a feature in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', WordOfGod said that no sixth generation Pokémon would get Megas. Come ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'' and Diancie, a sixth generation Pokémon, was revealed to have a Mega. However, this could be a case of ExactWords, as Diancie hadn't been officially revealed at the time of ''X and Y'' and its Mega didn't debut until ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire''.

* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' creator Bill Lawrence and other members of the staff had repeatedly stated that J.D. and Elliot would not end up together, and had written several episodes that showed what a terrible couple they were, that all they really want to do is have sex, and finally brought the relationship to its seemingly ultimate conclusion in the penultimate episode of the third season. Guess what happens in the eighth season. They may have just changed their minds later on, though.

** He also insisted that iStartAFanWar was really a TakeThat at all the shippers for the show, since it had Carly deliver an AuthorTract about how iCarly is about comedy, not shipping. The next 2 major episodes with promos? 1: Sam admits she's in love with Freddie in the first and 2: locks herself in a mental hospital and after Carly and Freddie can't get her out, Freddie says he likes her too. The next upcoming episode is about Carly reacting to her best friends dating. How on earth that is not shipping-related is beyond a lot of fans.