The Tomorrow War seemingly ends on a happy note when Dan Forester blows up the alien spaceship and kills the escaped female White Spike to prevent the Tomorrow War from ever happening. However, it might have hidden a darker twist.

After being crafted, Dan learns that he would die in a car crash in seven years. His conversation with future Muri reveals that his underachievement and unfulfillment in life would later drive him away from his family. He would repeat the same mistake made by his father. In the film, Dan comes back and mends his relationship with his father. However, the film has downplayed post-war PTSD and the life-altering effect of witnessing the end of humanity.

Dan Forest Might Have Set up an Even Darker Path for Future

In the future, Dan watches his daughter die. He couldn’t save her. Bearing the burden and the knowledge of his death, he returns to the present days and sets off on a journey to prevent the future from ever happening. It’s clear that the stressors won’t end with the spaceship being destroyed or the death of the female White Spike. What he manages to accomplish offers him temporary peace of mind but doesn’t prevent him from being consumed by the possibility of what might happen. In the years to come, Dan might spend his days searching for the surviving White Spikes in fear of what they have missed.

A dark theory on Reddit also suggests that Chris Pratt’s character didn’t change the future at all because there is more than one White Spike escaped from the spaceship, and therefore, by entering prematurely, Dan and his team might have sped up the time left leading up to the Tomorrow War.

The Tomorrow War Still Leads to the End of Humanity

Having used the poison to kill White Spikes in the present time instead of waiting for the aliens to strike (opposed to what future Muri suggested), the same combination might not work on the surviving aliens (if any) because they are also actively evolving in the next thirty years. Some also argue that the Tomorrow War might even come sooner in this case. With her family life altered, Muri might not go on the same path to become the scientist who creates the ultimate virus to kill the alien creatures. In that case, the outcome of the Tomorrow War will not be altered.

However, what the future might be in The Tomorrow War universe ultimately depends on the theory it builds on. The film has purposely focused on Chris Pratt’s character instead of going too deep into time travel. Therefore, without setting out a clear rule, it leaves the film’s ending some room for interpretation.