30+ Details From 2000s Movies That We Never Noticed

Remember when Michelle Yeoh’s character was a famous actress in one of Everything Everywhere All at Once’s multiverses? Well, her celebrity alter-ego appeared on the red carpet for the premiere of Crazy Rich Asians. And weirdly, Michelle actually appeared in Crazy Rich Asians, playing the role of Eleanor Sung-Young.

The mind-blowing film won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Michelle Yeoh won Best Actress, and Ke Huy Quan––who played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom––won Best Supporting Actor.

When Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Earth-838’s Doctor Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) land in the ruined Earth universe, you can see director Sam Raimi’s yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88, nicknamed “The Classic,” floating in a swirling maelstrom.

The car has appeared in all of Sam Raimi’s films, including all three of his Spider-Man movies and Drag Me to Hell, but it’s most famous for being Ash’s (Bruce Campbell) car in Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy. In Evil Dead 3, Ash even travels back in time in his trusty Oldsmobile.

Remember before black riders crossed the Brandywine River and The Shire was safe? After those four cheeky Hobbits, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, tumble down a hill in the first The Lord of the Rings film, Merry says, “That was just a detour… a shortcut.”

Samwise Gamgee replies, “A shortcut to what?” and Pippin says, “Mushrooms!” Why? Well, the fourth chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien’s original The Fellowship of the Ring book is titled A Short Cut to Mushrooms.

When the Stay Puft Marshmallow Men come to life in the supermarket in Ghostbusters Afterlife, there are not one but two homages to classic films. The first, of course, is a nod to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man who attacked New York City in the original Ghostbusters.

But when the hilarious little marshmallow men start roasting each other on fire, one of them gives the thumbs-up sign as he melts. This is a nod to Terminator’s fiery demise in Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Half Marvel superhero movie, half 1970s thriller, Captain America: Winter Soldier, sees Samuel L. Jackson’s iconic Marvel character and SHIELD leader Nick Fury meet his maker. But don’t worry, it was all a ruse, and he’s still alive.

At the end of the movie, Fury stands over his supposed grave, and the headstone reads, “The path of the righteous man… Ezekiel 25:17”. This directly references Jules Winnfield, the character Jackson played in Pulp Fiction, and his famous quote.

South Korean filmmaker Bong Jun Ho’s movies often explore wealth and class. 2013’s Snowpiercer saw first class and poor passengers embark on an endless, apocalyptic train journey. 2019’s Parasite explores the class gulf between rich and poor. To emphasize this widening chasm, the director featured many vertical camera movements.

Instead of panning horizontally, the camera tilts vertically to portray society’s hierarchy. He also added some neat visual tricks in post-production. One memorable effect was this shiny reflection on glass to separate the rich and poor characters.

When JJ Abrams rebooted Star Wars, he brought some old familiar ideas and voices with him. When Rey has a Force vision, she hears Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda. Abrams had Ewan McGregor and Frank Oz record new dialogue. JJ used Ewan’s “Rey, these are your first steps,” but plumped for some pre-existing Yoda dialogue.

But how did they get Alec Guinness––who passed away in 2000––to say Rey’s name? Well, a clever sound mixer took the middle of Obi-Wan saying the word “afraid” and edited it down to “Rey.”

While Frozen is the most beloved Disney film of the 2010s, Tangled is somewhat overlooked. It retells the ancient folk tale of Rapunzel and her magnificently long hair. In one scene, her wicked mother, Gothel, kisses Rapunzel on the forehead, saying, “I love you the most.”

But eagle-eyed young viewers might have noticed Gothel is kissing and speaking to her daughter’s hair. One reason Tangled isn’t as popular as it should be is that overprotective Gothel’s poor treatment of Rapunzel is probably a little too realistic.

Tangled isn’t the only Disney movie Rapunzel shows up in. In one of Frozen’s opening scenes, as the Kingdom of Arendelle prepares for Elsa’s coronation, short-haired Rapunzel and her husband, Flynn Rider, appear as representatives of the Kingdom of Corona.

They can be spotted during the song “First Time in Forever.” But how can this be so? Apparently, Rapunzel is Elsa and Anna’s cousin. If you can’t get over the fact that Elsa and Rapunzel are related, you need to let it go… let it go!

In the very first John Wick movie, Keanu Reeve’s brooding international assassin wears his wristwatch facing outward. But when John Wick goes into “battle mode,” he twists his watch around so the face is on the inside of his wrist. Why does he do this? Well, this is what real snipers do.

There are two good reasons. The first is so snipers can see the time when holding their weapons. The second reason is so their watch doesn’t give off any tell-tale reflections, revealing their secret position.

Zack Snyder’s Watchmen is an admirable attempt to adapt Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal graphic novel. His three-hour marathon faithfully recreates almost every comic book frame but lacks emotion and character depth. The film’s opening montage features the original Night Owl fighting crime and saving Thomas and Martha Wayne from Joe Chill outside Gotham’s Opera House.

This means, in Snyder’s Watchmen universe, Gotham’s wealthiest and most generous philanthropists lived, meaning Bruce Wayne never became Batman. For a less yawn-inducing take on Watchmen, check out Damon Lindelof’s HBO TV series.

Cars 2 continues the story of the world’s speediest racecar Lightning McQueen. This time, he and his best friend, tow truck Mater, travel abroad to enter the World Grand Prix. After the Japanese and Italian races, Eagle-eyed Disney fans may have noticed a tapestry on the wall of a London pub.

If you look very closely, you’ll notice that the tapestry is of Princess Merida of DunBroch’s family from Disney’s Brave. However, this time, they take the form of vehicles.

Ever wondered why Robert De Niro appears in Joker? Well, the film is basically a remake of two of his movies, Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver. Joaquim Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck / Joker character is essentially a mash-up of De Niro’s characters, untalented stand-up comedian Rupert Pupkin and delusional self-styled vigilante Travis Bickle.

Just as Rupert Pupkin idolized then kidnapped chat show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), Arthur Fleck is obsessed with and becomes violent toward his hero, chat show host Murray Franklin… played by Robert De Niro.

Daniel Craig’s last Bond outing saw many callbacks to previous 007 films, including Timothy Dalton’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage Series III from 1987’s The Living Daylights and Dr. No’s Jamaican location. But the film is most heavily indebted to 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

When Bond and Madeleine are driving through Italy, Bond states, “We have all the time in the world,” while composer Hans Zimmer reprises John Barry’s and Louis Armstrog’s OHMSS theme of the same name. The song also pops up at the end of the movie.

Wes Anderson’s 2014 comedy-drama The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) is a heartwarming story and entertaining visual treat filled with nods, winks, and easter eggs. Throughout the film, hotel lobby boy Zero has a thin, drawn-on mustache in order to be more like his boss, famed concierge Monsieur Gustave.

But in the final scene, you can see that Zero has finally grown a real mustache. If you recognize the young actor, it’s Tony Revolori, who plays the privileged bully Flash Thompson in Marvel’s Spider-Man movies.

This breathtaking kaleidoscopic Marvel animation sees Miles Morales teaming up with other multiverses Spider-Men to take down Kingpin. In one scene, Miles sings along to Post Malone and Swae Lee’s song “Sunflower.”

But the alternative Spidey conveniently gets the lyrics wrong, singing “she wanna drive me like a cruise” instead of the actual lyric “she wanna ride me like a cruise.” The reason for the change was not to offend anyone. The movie was, after all, a PG-rated film. Although, most kids would’ve completely missed the meaning.

In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) did a terrible job of interrogating Aaron Davis, aka The Prowler (Donald Glover). This cat burglar happens to be the uncle of Miles Morales, the web-slinger from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

The multi-talented actor and musician won the cameo because when the Amazing Spider-Man reboot was announced, fans took to Twitter to plead with Marvel for Donald to play Miles Morales/Spider-Man. Fans didn’t get their wish, but Donald finally showed up in the MCU anyway.

Rian Johnson’s Knives Out is the ultimate whodunnit for the 21st Century. But did you know that Christopher Plummer’s character Harlan Thrombey––the mystery fiction author and head of the patriarch of the wealthy family whose demise kickstarts the plot––was named after a children’s 1981 Choose Your Own Adventure book?

The book’s title was Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey? Now, for anyone born after 1990, these popular books were the paper-based version of Netflix’s Bandersnatch. But instead of pressing a button on your remote control, you turned to the relevant page.

Disney’s Inside Out is one of those great movies that works on several levels. Kids will love its bright colors and quirky characters, which help them understand and work through all these confusing emotions (Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust.) Kids will also be inspired by the film’s uplifting, hopeful message.

But once you reach adulthood, you realize Inside Out‘s theme is mental struggles. Did you notice that Joy is the only emotion that doesn’t cast a shadow? That’s because she’s literally a source of light.

The Dark Knight––Christopher Nolan’s near-perfect sequel to Batman Begins––starts with The Joker stealing money from a Gotham bank while he and his goons disguise themselves under clown masks.

But did you know that The Joker’s clown mask is a homage to Cesar Romero’s Joker from the camp 1960s Batman TV series? And did you know that Cesar Romero had a mustache while playing the Clown Prince of Crime? His facial hair was always hidden beneath The Joker’s white face paint.

The Dark Knight isn’t the only Batman film to pay homage to the Batman TV series. Adam West’s Bruce Wayne / Batman accessed his Batcave underground lair under Wayne Manor via a secret button hidden inside a Shakespeare statue on his desk. You may remember the bust that sat beside the red Batphone.

In The Batman (2022) Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne also has a Shakespeare bust. You can see it in the background when Andy Serkis’ woefully underused Alfred opens The Riddler’s explosive package.

Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver tells the tale of ace getaway driver Baby (Ansel Elgort), who falls for Bo’s Diner waitress Debora (Lily James) on the eve of his last big job. Viewers couldn’t fail to notice the giant painting of Route 66 and a vintage car on the back wall of the diner.

In the film’s denouement, Debora sends the imprisoned Baby a postcard, and guess what… It’s the same image. In a black-and-white dream sequence, Debora also picks Baby up from jail in the same vintage car.

When Rian Johnson sat down to write The Last Jedi, he hadn’t read Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt, and J.J. Abrams’ Force Awakens script. And boy… doesn’t it show! He only had one requirement – Rey and Chewbacca take R2-D2 to Luke Skywalker’s island sanctuary, Ahch-To.

Rey and R2-D2 try to convince Luke to come out of retirement to train Rey. Johnson needed R2 so the cheeky droid could manipulate Luke by playing his sister, Princess Leia’s original “You’re my only hope” holographic message from Star Wars: A New Hope.

Richard Linklater is most famous for his Before Sunrise romance films, but he also makes trippy science fiction. His 2006 film, A Scanner Darkly, was first shot on digital film before undergoing rotoscoping––a painstakingly laborious technique in which animators trace over the original footage frame by frame to make it look like a cartoon.

In one scene, a character wears Philips headphones that read “PHIL D” in reference to Philip K. Dick, author of the 1977 source novel. Similarly, George Michael’s headphones in the Fastlove video read FONY instead of SONY.

While Thor had some great banter with Tony Stark in The Avengers movies, New Zealand film director Taika Waititi brought out Chris Hemsworth’s comedy chops in the excellent Thor: Ragnarok. However, Thor: Love and Thunder proved Taiki was a one-trick pony. But did you know that Hemsworth’s and Waititi’s kids appear in the movie?

Gor the God Butcher’s little girl––who eventually comes back to life and is adopted by Thor––is Hemsworth’s real-life daughter, India Rose. Taika’s kids play some of the Asgardian children Gor kidnaps.

When Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and Katy (Awkwafina) received a tour of the illegal Golden Daggers fighting club in Macau, we all recognized Wong (Benedict Wong) fighting The Abomination (Tim Roth). But only genuine Marvel geeks would’ve known two of the other combatants.

One was a Black Widow assassin named Helen whom Natasha Romanov rescued during 2021’s Black Widow. The other was a fighter enhanced by Iron Man 3’s Extremis virus. Helen later tends to the losing soldier’s wounds.

Based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic books, Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is such a visual feast we could write a whole article about its many easter eggs. But one blink-and-you-miss-it moment sees Amazon delivery driver Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) give her phone number to the eponymous Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) and includes seven X’s under her number.

The X’s are a tiny telegraph to Ramona’s Seven Evil Exes. Mirroring video games, Scott must battle and defeat each of her increasingly powerful ex-flames to win her heart.

Martin Scorsese’s The Departed is a remake of the Hong Kong action thriller Infernal Affairs. Not only did the genius director add his vision and flair, but he also foreshadowed every character meeting their demise. Before a character meets their maker, the letter ‘X’ appears somewhere on-screen.

The Xs aren’t always easy to spot. Sometimes, they’re crossed wooden beams; other times, they’re X-shaped carpet designs. The only character that doesn’t get an X Marks the Spot is Mark Wahlberg’s character Sgt. Dignam because he’s the only one to survive!

In The Rise of Skywalker’s thrilling final lightsaber battle, Rey again hears voices of fallen Jedi. Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi says, “Rey, these are your final steps.” She also hears Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, Frank Oz as Yoda, and Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker.

But that’s not all… Rey also hears the voices of Jedi Ahsoka Tano, Kanan Jarrus, Aayla Secura, Adi Gallia, and Luminara Unduli, who feature in animations like The Clone Wars.

​​Zack Snyder brought Frank Miller’s graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns to life as Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. But did you know the movie was foreshadowed in I Am Legend? In one scene, Will Smith’s character and his dog walk through post-apocalyptic New York, and a billboard has a giant Batman vs. Superman poster.

So how did I Am Legend know nine years in advance? Well, the poster was added by screenwriter Akiva Goldsman who had been busy writing an early draft of Batman vs. Superman.

Admittedly, we’re being a little cheeky by including Fight Club from 1999, but it’s only one year off our target and includes the most giant easter eggs of all time. David Fincher admits a Starbucks cup appears in almost every single scene of his anti-establishment movie. However, they’re not there as shameless product placement.

The cups demonstrate how capitalism, consumerism, and commercialization establish sheeple’s reality. They’re a meta-commentary about how we’re addicted to abiding by the rules set by giant faceless corporations, as they shape our thoughts and empty our pockets.

David Fincher’s The Social Network tells the lurid tale of Mark Zuckerberg founding Facebook. The movie tells the story of its origins when he illegally hacked into college databases to steal photos of female students and had male students rate their attractiveness through the social media behemoth.

Throughout Aaron Sorkin’s script, Jesse Eisenberg’s character states Facebook will not “install pop-ups for Mountain Dew” because that would make him a sell-out. But, in some neat foreshadowing, Zuckerberg can be seen with a can of Mountain Dew during the deposition scenes.

Thor’s second outing flopped, but it contained a brief clue to the future multiverse direction that Marvel’s storytelling was headed in. In one scene, Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) mention a cosmic event called the Convergence.

As they chat, we see Selvig’s chalkboard mentions black holes, electromagnetic forces, and string theory. It also mentions the 616 Universe, The Nexus of All Reality, and The Crossroads, a gateway dimension consisting of portals to other worlds.

The excellent remake of Stephen King’s It contains a plethora of details you probably missed the first time. Like the way Pennywise the Clown lures Georgie by changing his eye color from yellow to the same blue as Bill’s eyes. Or when the kids meet beneath the Bradley Gang mural.

The mural depicts the famous Derry gang battle, which took place in the early 1900s on the day the clown first reared his ugly head. If you watch closely, Pennywise’s face mysteriously appears on the wall.

Movies adapted from Stephen King’s books are full of hidden details, easter eggs, and allusions to the horror author’s universe. The TV show Castle Rock did a great job of bringing King’s characters and locations together.

But there’s one blink-and-you-miss-it moment in It Chapter Two (2019) that likely sailed over the heads of even the most knowledgeable horror fans. In the sequel, It Chapter Two, this kid’s skateboard has a familiar pattern from Stephen King’s universe. It’s the same pattern as the Outlook Hotel’s carpet in The Shining!

When interstellar spacecraft passenger Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) is awakened early from induced hibernation, he finds there’s not a lot there to help him pass the time in space. So, Jim hits the spacecraft’s establishment, drowns his sorrows, and explains his woes to the android Arthur.

Jim’s wishes are eventually answered when he wakes up Aroura Lane (Jennifer Lawrence). Film buffs should’ve immediately recognized Arthur and his homage to the establishment and serviceman at the Outlook Hotel from Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

Adam McKay’s crime comedy-drama The Big Short tells the tale of the 2008 housing collapse. Among the stellar cast are Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt. Bale plays eccentric hedge fund manager Michael Burry.

In this scene, Burry stares at his computer screen. If you look closely, like really, really closely with binoculars, you’ll notice that sitting in his inbox is an email from the film’s director, Adam McKay. Funnily enough, the email is titled “Have you thought this through?”

This legal biopic tells the tale of the eponymous whistleblower who fought against her local gas and electric energy corporation when they contaminated groundwater. Julia Roberts played the brave environmental activist.

In one scene, her character is served by a waitress called Julia, who’s played by the real Erin Brockovich. It’s almost as confusing as when the master thieves in Ocean’s Twelve have Julia Roberts’ character Tess pretend to be celebrity actress Julia Roberts because she looks just like her!

Seth MacFarlane is the creator of Family Guy, American Dad, and the Ted franchise. Ted is a loveable yet foul-mouthed teddy bear who comes to life and takes over John Bennett’s (Mark Wahlberg) life. In the sequel, Ted gets married and fights to try to have a baby. But Ted isn’t the only one fighting…

One of Seth MacFarlane’s other creations comes to life, fighting a chicken. In the background, Family Guy’s Peter Griffin re-enacts his famous chicken fight from the cartoon.

Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph tells the story of an arcade game villain who wants to change his ways and become a hero. The film features an old Mario Bros or Donkey Kong-like platform game called Fix-It Felix Jr., and eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed the game’s high score is 120501. So, what gives?

Well, the high score of 120501 is Walt Disney’s date of birth, December 5th, 1901. He invented Mickey Mouse and Disneyland and changed animation forever with the first feature-length cartoon, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Did you know many Marvel movies feature a nod to Luke Skywalker losing his hand in The Empire Strikes Back? In Iron Man 3, Tony Stark lops off Aldrich Killian’s left hand. Winter Solider Bucky Barnes has a cybernetic arm. Ulysses Klaue gets his arm chopped off by Ultron.

In Ant-Man, Yellowjacket’s right arm gets shrunk first. Loki tricks Dark Elves by casting an illusion that makes it appear as if he chopped off Thor’s hand. Groot also loses both arms. Star Wars lover Kevin Feige confirmed they’re all an intentional homage.

When Jyn Erso bumped into Dr. Cornelius Evazan and Ponda Baba on Jedha, it seemed like another fun Star Wars easter egg. Dr. Evazan soon threatens Luke Skywalker in Tattooine’s Mos Eisley’s cantina, and Ponda Baba loses his arm to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber. But their Rogue One appearance is much darker…

Remember, Dr. Evazan told Luke he had a life-ending sentence in 12 systems? That’s because he and a mysterious doctor named Roofoo “decraniated” people. In Rogue One, several background Jedha citizens are missing heads.

If you haven’t seen Ari Aster’s 2019 folk horror film Midsommar, you must check it out. But be warned; it’s not for those of a nervous disposition. Florence Pugh and her teen friends vacation at a rural Swedish commune that’s home to an ancient Scandinavian cult.

Midsommar is full of creepy visual metaphors, including this ethereal face in the trees. The face belongs to The Green Man, a figure from European folklore who represents the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

Blade Runner fans had to wait 35 years for a sequel, and Denis Villeneueve’s Blade Runner 2049 didn’t disappoint. His film opens with an easter egg that even the biggest sci-fi fans might have missed.

First, you need to know that bounty hunters identify replicants by having them look up and to the left. The opening text of 2049 appears at the top left of the screen, meaning the audience must look up and to the left. The first word the audience sees is… replicants.

Taika Waititi’s 2019 comedy-drama Jojo Rabbit tells the tale of 10-year-old Johannes “Jojo” Betzler, who joins a German youth group and has an imaginary friend––Waititi playing a buffoonish version of Germnay’s leader at the time.

However, it soon becomes clear that Jojo knows very little about the leader as his imaginary friend eats meat. In real life, that person was a vegetarian. All this adds up to unreliable narrator Jojo knowing very little about the monstrously evil German leader.