Who is the Mantis? 'The Masked Singer' Prediction & Clues!

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Kyle Montplaisir is a contributor and host at Talent Recap. He is the lead detective for the site on 'The Masked Singer' and an encyclopedia of knowledge on 'The Voice' and 'American Idol'. A graduate of Pepperdine University, Kyle is originally from Arizona, but now lives in Los Angeles. When he isn’t watching talent shows and game shows, Kyle loves eating dessert, singing karaoke, and spending time with his wife, Hannah, and dog, Stella

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The Doll has two new contenders to take on in this week’s episode of The Masked Singer! And they are all belting out some movie classics. From the preview, it looks like the Mantis is bringing some serious energy! But will they be able to stick around?

Let’s go through everything we know about the Mantis and who the celebrity underneath could be.

Clues on The Masked Singer Season 9

Mantis took the stage in an Elvis-like outfit, with a lot of energy to show! In his clues, a commentator says he “answered the call,” with Mantis responding “I’m in.” He’s ready to show a new side of himself! We see the Mantis crawling up a skyscraper and busting the windows out. The commentator says he’s known for his “brooding persona” while he flies in hanging under a helicopter.  Then, the Mantis is seen walking up holding a guitar and pushing one of the men in black out of the way. 

He’s trying to prove that he’s “real freaking good at comedy.” In fact, he’s almost won an Emmy for it! Mantis is seen reading a “Lord of the Fly” book while the commentator notes, “You may not know Mantis as a singer. He’s a published author. He’s done Shakespeare. And now, he wants to let loose and dance with the wolves.” Mantis holds up a stuffed wolf while howling is heard. 

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Music has followed Mantis “his whole career…from Broadway to the silver screen.” The men in black are seen playing poker at a table and the camera zooms in on the poker chips. Next, one of them pulls a card out of his cowboy boot. We also see a gas canister that’s on one side, then some matches. Once his performance ended, we got one last clue: a pair of sunglasses that said “TRUE STORY” on them. Mantis said, “representing a legend was instrumental to my success, and it was an honor to do so.”

Popular Guesses for The Masked Singer Mantis

Robin was thinking a big movie star, guessing this could be Dennis Quaid. Jenny was getting a Cole Hauser or Kevin Bacon vibe from him, and Robin and Nicole thought that was a good prediction. Ken guessed Bruce Springsteen is under the mask.

Fans are very conflicted about who the Mantis is online. Popular predictions include Bob Odenkirk, Kevin Bacon, Neil Patrick Harris, Lou Diamond Phillips, Sean Hayes, and Taran Killam. Everyone seems to agree this is definitely an actor! But I did see a rogue guess that this is Weird Al.

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Who is the Mantis on The Masked Singer?

Putting together everything we know about the Mantis, we can predict that it is…

Lou Diamond Phillips!

And what a treat he’s already been on the show. You can definitely tell it’s his energy! And here’s how the clues back it up.

Mantis said he’s known for his “brooding persona” and I would say that’s a fair assessment of Lou Diamond Phillips. The guitar in his clues and mentions of music “following [him] his whole career” check out because his breakout role was as rockstar Ritchie Valens in La Bamba. He talked about almost winning an Emmy, and Lou was nominated for Outstanding Actor In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series in 2016. When he claimed he’s a published author and that he’s done Shakespeare, those clues also line up. Lou wrote a book called Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira and his theatre credits include Hamlet. The wolves are another nod to his roles, in the movie Shadow of the Wolf and the TV series Wolf Lake.

The Mantis talked about being on Broadway and the silver screen, both of which Lou Diamond Phillips has done. He was in The King & I on Broadway and has starred in a number of movies. Poker is also a part of Lou’s life, as he’s a poker player and was in the July 2009 World Series of Poker. The cowboy boots also check out, because Lou has been in a number of Western films. Finally, his claim that “representing a legend was instrumental to [his] success” is pointing to him playing Ritchie Valens in La Bamba.

Stay tuned for the Mantis to take the stage against the Medusa and the Gargoyle in a few weeks. In the meantime, you can read up on all of this season’s latest news and reveals!

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