People think Ontario pop-punk legend Deryck Whibley will be new lead singer of Linkin Park

Deryck Whibley, the Ontario native who fronted award-winning pop-punk band Sum41 for decades, may be transitioning to a new role at the end of the band's final tour next year if the rumours are true — a role taking over as the lead singer of Linkin Park.

Fans immediately jumped on the potential connection between separate cryptic social media updates from the California rock group and Whibley, with the former posting a countdown on Sunday with zero further explanation, and the latter alerting followers the following day of a vague "announcement" coming Wednesday morning.

I don't mean to fan the flame of rumors, but there's been talk of Deryck Whibley being the new lead vocalist of Linkin Park. Sum 41 is about to end their final tour as a band. Really makes you think. 🤔🤔 https://t.co/6SVBk9dAa7

— Head Rush Radio (@head_rush_radio) August 25, 2024

The general theory seems to be that Whibley will be replacing Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, who tragically ended his life at the age of 41 in 2017, marking the start of an indefinite hiatus for the acclaimed group behind hits like "In the End," "Numb" and "One Step Closer."

Under both posts are hundreds of comments noting how the announcements seem to "match" — and "not by coincidence," many believe — alongside confident speculation that the Scarborough-born, Ajax-raised rocker is "100 per cent joining Linkin Park" and would be a logical fit.

Imagine if true deryck whibley joining linkin park 🤯

— yapang. (@idzhamanwar) August 27, 2024

Videos from the time Whibley teamed up with Linkin Park co-founder Mike Shinoda to sing a cover of the band's hit "Faint" at 2018's Reading Festival are now being circulated as potential corroboration.

While most are excited at the prospect and eagerly awaiting the official confirmation, others are less so, saying they're "gonna be so salty" if Sum41 disbanded solely for this reason. Others don't think Whibley holds a candle to the late Bennington.

Yeah, no secret that Deryck Whibley is fronting Linkin Park next year. I hope it’s more of a celebration of the band type of thing as opposed to getting new music from them. https://t.co/iw7XcV2k7M

— Ryan (@ryan_mcfly) August 27, 2024

Whether in support or against, everyone will have to wait until tomorrow to find out if the news is true.