My Chemical Romance drop animated short and fans are already building theories

My Chemical Romance have released an animated short film ahead of the final two nights of their run at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Titled "Prelude to The End," the nearly eight-minute piece follows a girl named Astrid inside a mysterious school run by questionable figures, with a bleak tone that recalls the visual world built around The Black Parade.

The film was made in collaboration with visual artist and actor Lauren Tsai. Its voice cast pulls from well outside animation circles, including Phoebe Bridgers, Billie Eilish and Japanese video game producer Hideo Kojima. Tsai confirmed on Instagram that the short will be played at both Los Angeles dates.

As always when the band leaves breadcrumbs, listeners went frame by frame. The most widely shared theory centers on the school's name, Paper Academy, which appears on a sign at the very start. Fans have tied it to The Paper Kingdom, the reported working title of an album recorded in 2012 and shelved before the band broke up. My Chemical Romance have not released a studio album since 2010.

Another reading focuses on posters seen throughout the video, including one listing the academy's "rules," which some fans read as potential song titles. None of those phrases appeared on the supposed copy of the scrapped album that leaked online earlier this year.

A competing interpretation points the other way. Around the six-minute mark, Astrid looks at a note reading "an idea never forgets you," which fans have linked to the farewell letter Gerard Way posted in 2013, when the group first called it quits. The two Hollywood Bowl shows should offer a clearer sense of which direction the band is heading.