One Man Believes Tupac Is Alive in New Mexico — And Plans to Make a Movie About It

Perhaps one of the greatest conspiracy theories in music history is that Tupac Shakur is still alive. There’s a stubborn contingent of people who refuse to believe that Shakur died from the four gunshot wounds he sustained on September 7th, 1996, in Las Vegas. Tupac’s bodyguard has shared that he helped the controversial rapper fake his death and smuggle him to Cuba. Suge Knight’s son claimed Tupac was alive in a series of bizarre Instagram posts before reversing his stance. Last year, people were convinced they saw the former Death Row artist in South Africa. The sustained popularity of this conspiracy theory is now the basis for an upcoming film, 2Pac: The Great Escape From UMC, by Rick Boss.

“This movie is about Tupac actually escaping University Medical Center here in Vegas and relocating to New Mexico and getting protection from the Navajo tribe,” Boss, a Los Angeles filmmaker, told ABC 13’s KTNV. According to Boss, Tupac planted a body double in Suge Knight’s BMW when he heard of the planned attempt on his life, and escaped by helicopter to Navajo tribal land in New Mexico, where federal agents couldn’t follow him. Boss alleges that he obtained the information about Tupac’s survival through the rapper’s family and close surrounding circle of friends. “You can write a fiction story, but this is not fiction,” he continued. “This is facts through certain people I know.”

Richard Garcia, the actor tasked with playing Tupac, is not sold that the man he’s portraying onscreen is still alive. “He’s gone,” Garcia said.