With GTA 6 Trailer 2 Out in the Wild, the Fan Theories Are Coming Thick and Fast — and Some Sound Pretty Plausible

GTA 6 Trailer 2 is packed full of details (we spotted 89!), but it has also sparked an explosion of fan theories as the community analyze each frame for clues on what to expect when the most anticipated game in the world eventually comes out in May 2026.

GTA fans across social media, Discord, forums, reddit, and elsewhere are putting forward their speculation, with Trailer 2 the most up to date reference point they have.

Let’s start with a fun reference to Red Dead Redemption 2 that has some, once again, theorizing that the worlds of GTA and Red Dead exist within the same universe. Eagle-eyed fans spotted that the presidents on the cash seen in a screenshot of the club in GTA 6 are the same as those from Red Dead Redemption 2’s cigarette cards (Thaddeus Waxman and Franklin Hardin).

It’s worth noting this is an incidental detail, and GTA and Red Dead existing in the same universe does not amount to much at the end of the day (although some are now suggesting Jason may be a descendant of Arthur Morgan, given the two look sort of alike). But it shows that there are connections between the two Rockstar IPs that may be strengthened further when GTA 6 comes out.

Now onto some juicy stuff. There is a brief moment in the trailer early on when Jason walks into his house, and the camera moves into what looks like an over the shoulder, third-person perspective. There is little sign of gameplay in Trailer 2, but fans are theorizing that this cutscene may seamlessly transition into the beginning of GTA 6, with players thrust into controlling Jason as he walks around his house.

If true, it may be the case that GTA 6 features two of these sections: one for Jason and one for Lucia, the game’s second playable protagonist. The theory here is that GTA 6 will feature a similar transition into gameplay moment for Lucia, helping the player get to grips with the dual protagonist gameplay ahead of the time-skip to when Lucia leaves prison.

Moving on, fans are focusing their attention on an image transition on the recently updated official GTA 6 website, which sees the camera swing around from spotlighting Jason to spotlighting Lucia as they share an embrace.

Some are wondering if this is a character select screen that might display when you load the game. The expectation is you’ll be able to swap between Jason and Lucia during gameplay, but perhaps GTA 6 gives you the chance to pick between the two upon getting back into the game, and if so, this could be what we’ll see.

There are all sorts of theories on the nature of Jason and Lucia’s relationship and where the story will take it. I’ve seen everything from speculation that Jason is an undercover cop to either Jason or Lucia or perhaps even both dying at the end of the story. Most seem convinced either Jason or Lucia betrays the other at some point, which would be criminal. Perhaps we’ll get to choose via an optional ending system.

Just a note on the Jason is a cop theory: Jason tells the prison security guard, when picking up Lucia, that he might have been there before. In what capacity? Later, an older cop says, “Us cops, we’ve got to protect each other,” before the trailer cuts to Jason shooting at a moving car.

This leads on to a theory that GTA 6 may feature a third playable character that Rockstar is keeping secret so it’s a surprise to fans, and that this older cop may be it. Could you shift perspective to a cop hunting down Jason and Lucia during the story?

Now, this is a brilliantly silly fan theory: previous GTA games are films in the world of GTA 6. Phil Cassidy, the arms dealer from Vice City and GTA 3, is at the heart of this theory. In those games he’s missing an arm, but there is a character seen on Jason’s TV during the GTA 6 trailer that looks a lot like Cassidy — except he has both arms.

So, what’s happening here? If this is indeed Cassidy, then how does he have both arms? Could the GTA 6 Cassidy be Phil Cassidy’s son? Or his grandson?

Adding to the confusion is GTA’s seperated universes structure. The GTA series is divided into three distinct parallel universes, officially named by Rockstar North as the “2D Universe”, “3D Universe,” and the “HD Universe.”

The 2D Universe includes the original top-down GTA games developed by DMA Design. The 3D Universe starts with GTA 3 and includes its prequels, such as Vice City. And the HD Universe starts with GTA 4 and includes GTA 5, GTA Online, and the upcoming GTA 6, with each game set in the same year it was released. Following this, GTA 6 will be set in 2026, aka the modern day.

Now, while these are meant to be distinct parallel universes, there is a lot of crossover between them, with shared place names, characters, some lore, and more besides. But certainly no-one was expecting Phil Cassidy from Vice City to pop up in GTA 6, as it makes the ‘distinct parallel universes’ thing even trickier.

So, perhaps having GTA’s 3D Universe games as films in the ongoing HD Universe would help resolve these issues. We do see what looks like Phil Cassidy on Jason’s TV, after all. Or, this Phil Cassidy has nothing more than a fun Easter egg Rockstar added to GTA 6 to spark exactly this kind of speculation. This is Rockstar, after all!

Trailer 2 has also reinforced existing theories that GTA 6 will feature heists, and that there is a heavy influence from the Fast & Furious movies. At one point we see a truck with a vault attached to it, similar to the Fast 5 scene that does pretty much the same thing.

I knew that I have seen this somewhere before 👀🤔

Gta 6 🤝 Fast And Furious 5. pic.twitter.com/QxNPtHlXXO

— Marvrassiczilla 🅰️🦖🦎🦍 (@Movie__Fans) May 6, 2025

More GTA 6 fan theories are popping up all the time as people dig into Trailer 2. Expect plenty more in the year we have to wait until GTA 6 comes out.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].