Is James Franco teasing a new movie, pulling off a social media prank or does he genuinely believe he saw an alien? Franco, in a string of bizarre TikTok videos, claimed he was being watched, followed and even hacked after witnessing something mysterious outside his home. The suspense finally ended on July 13, when he released the much-hyped “alien footage.” But, instead of convincing viewers, it sparked trolling as they questioned the authenticity of the clip.
James Franco’s Surprise TikTok Return
Franco, who has largely stayed away from social media since facing sexual misconduct allegations in 2018, launched a new TikTok account on June 3. Knowing people would question whether the account was authentic, he addressed the speculation right away.
“I can’t say too much right now. But stick around and I promise it will all make sense,” he wrote in the caption of his first post. He also tried to reassure viewers that what they were seeing wasn’t a publicity gimmick. He added, “I maybe seem crazy, like, why? What’s going on? What’s the gimmick? No. This is real.”
‘I’m being watched’: James Franco’s Shocking Claims
Over the following weeks, Franco repeatedly appeared in frantic videos claiming that someone was following him. He hinted that he feared he could disappear and insisted something serious had happened. The unusual posts quickly went viral, with many TikTok users convinced that the Oscar-nominated actor was building hype for an upcoming project rather than documenting real events.
Then, on June 15, Franco finally revealed what all the secrecy was about.
James Franco Saw An ‘Alien’ On His Property
Franco told followers that he had witnessed what he believed was an extraterrestrial outside his home and promised he would release proof. As excitement grew, he repeatedly teased one date: July 13.
A few days before the reveal, he claimed someone had even tried to stop him from sharing the footage.
“OK, they hacked my account. I got it back. They want me to stop. People think I’m acting crazy. Whatever. I’m not acting crazy. I saw something. They tried to hack my account and I got it back,” he said.
“They don’t want me to show what I’m gonna show. I’m gonna show it. I already told you, 7/13.” The dramatic updates only fueled speculation that a movie announcement was around the corner.
Finally, The ‘Alien’ Video
When July 13 finally arrived, Franco uploaded the long-awaited footage. “This was thrust upon me,” he said, adding, “I saw something, and I thought, you know what? I can’t keep this quiet. I need to get this out for that very reason that people are trying to stop me.”
🔥🚨DEVELOPING: Hollywood actor James Franco just released this video looking like a different man according to fans as he claims powerful people have been trying to silence him and “shut him down” to prevent him from releasing this footage of what appears to portray an Alien… pic.twitter.com/Kdd6j7ljlE
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) July 14, 2026
The black-and-white video appeared to show an alien-like figure wandering around outside his house. Instead of believing the footage, viewers flooded the comments with jokes and theories. “Clearly fake but I’ll say it again, I’m excited for whatever movie this is for,” one user wrote. Another commented, “God damnit James Franco, you made us wait for this?!”
Still, Franco doesn’t appear to be done.
At the end of his latest video, a message teased that Franco will be dropping more videos later.
