The Interview death scene: Did North Korea leak it?

Wow, this whole Sony fiasco is getting super-crazy.

First, someone hacked into the company’s computer systems and released tons of employee personal information, internal sensitive emails and upcoming films that hadn’t been premiered yet. Then came a Sept. 11-like terroristic threat by an anonymous group who call themselves the Guardians of Peace, against all theaters that premiered Seth Rogen and James Franco‘s The Interview, which was set to hit theaters Christmas Day.

More: How Seth Rogen and James Franco must feel about The Interview, Sony mess

It’s now been confirmed that North Korea, who expressed their dismay about the fictional assassination of their country’s leader from the get-go, was, indeed, behind the hack and subsequent leak. It makes sense, then, that they also leaked the Kim Jong-un death scene that hit the internet today, and it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that they are either affiliated with, or are, the Guardians of Peace. But why would they put forth into the world the very scene they didn’t want released in the first place?

They had, for all intents and purposes, won. All of the major theaters announced Wednesday that they were pulling The Interview from their lineup and not long after, Sony followed suit, confirming they were indefinitely canceling all releases of the film themselves. So if North Korea is behind the Sony hack, as officials are now saying, it’s really confusing as to why they would release the procured footage after their victory.

One reason they might have done it: covering their own behinds. Now that the world is pointing the finger at North Korea, it would kind of make sense that they would release the scene to push the blame back somewhere else. It’s their way of saying, “See? We didn’t do it. There’s proof now, because we didn’t want anyone to see the dramatized version of our leader dying.” This theory seems a bit obvious, but is it really that far-fetched?

Another option to explain why they leaked the footage is far more sinister. What if they leaked the footage so they could blame the newest leak on someone associated with Sony or Hollywood, so that they could have an excuse to attack or declare some kind of violence against the United States?

If it wasn’t North Korea, then who leaked the graphic footage? Sony seemed pretty hell-bent on blaming the hack on a disgruntled employee. Now that it’s confirmed that North Korea was behind the hack, is it still plausible that a former Sony employee released this new scene? The stakes are pretty high at this point, considering the threats. It’s hard to imagine someone would want to mess with the situation now that innocent lives may be involved.

Could another country that has a beef with the US have somehow gotten hold of the film and released it to stoke the fire between America and North Korea?

There’s also another population that’s disgruntled that Sony has ditched on The Interview: Hollywood creatives. Famous actors, producers, writers and entertainers of all sorts have already voiced their disappointment that the studio caved in to the threats. Is it possible that someone leaked the footage in the name of creative freedom?

We may never know the answers to all these questions, but one thing is for sure: We’re hoping the threats are just that, and that nobody gets hurt.