But few could have guessed so many years ago what kind of hype this silly concept would spur by its opening day. As the online furor surrounding this slithery thriller has raged, leading up to its Friday, Aug. 18, premier — the movie studio recently announced it would not be screening the film for most critics, meaning Web speculation has only intensified in recent days. A devout legion of Snakes fans have already made it the underdog movie sensation of the year.

Yet many people are still only learning about the film’s unlikely origins on the World Wide Web.

It all started on a blog, when early rumors of a Snakes script were posted on a forum run by screenwriter Josh Friedman. Then came the news that star Samuel L. Jackson had signed on, and the even more surprising news that New Line Cinema had agreed to bring back the film’s original title (after switching it temporarily to Pacific Flight 121).

All this was enough to send online movie fans scrambling to share the news with their friends that Snakes on a Plane was not just a hilarious myth but in fact a real film coming soon to a theater near you.