It’s been 50 years since Gene Wilder starred in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, based on Roald Dahl’s classic novel of almost the same name. And in recent years fans of the movie have been sharing all kinds of theories about the storyline. The latest, which has proven to be particularly popular argues that Willy Wonka only sent out four Golden Tickets at first rather than five.

Reddit user jacksonwhipple pointed out that their theory only applies to the 1971 movie and not the Roald Dahl book or Johnny Depp remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

They wrote: “When Willy Wonka sent out the golden tickets into the world he only sent four out at first and waited until someone made a counterfeit to send out the last.

“It’s safe to assume that he knew where exactly he was sending the tickets as Mr Wilkinson showed up almost right after they were found.

“This is at least the case for Charlie because he showed up minutes after he found it.”

READ MORE: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: How close are the book and film

The theorist argued: “Charlie being the exception because he couldn’t afford to look for it. Everything then calmed down after it was announced the gambler found the fifth ticket.

“The candy shop owner even said that once it was found he didn’t have to hide his Wonka bars anymore. (Let us also not rule out the possibility that he was in on it too).

“So I think that when the announcement came that [that] ticket was fake, Willy Wonka sent out the final one. With the whole world wrapped up in this contest, it was probably inevitable that someone eventually tried to make a counterfeit.”

The fan noted that once everyone thought the contest was over, the Candy Man went out to his local neighbourhood with the fifth Golden Ticket so that it could be discovered by someone who wasn’t looking for it specifically – a kid who just wanted to buy some chocolate.

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The theorist added: “Also with the devastating news of the ticket begin found, it was likely no one who actively participated wanted to spend any more money on Wonka bars.

“Going back to the shop owner, he gave the bar with the ticket to Charlie when he said he was going to get it for his Grandpa Joe. With something like sharing and generosity [lacking in] the other kids, maybe this could have been a signal that the candy shop owner needed to look out for [someone] to give the ticket to.”

They also pointed out that he gave Charlie a bar that was on display, rather than one that other children had access to.

The theorist concluded: “With Willy Wonka being the genius and potential manipulative sociopath we know him to be, this would make sense for him to try and control the contest as best he can to find the right person to trust his life’s work to.”

READ THE REDDIT THEORY HERE